Tag: Odell Beckham

Why Packers should be Odell Beckham Jr.’s preferred destination after clearing waivers

If the Packers are truly interested, WR Odell Beckham Jr. should jump at the chance to revive his career in Green Bay.

Former Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. cleared waivers on Tuesday and is now free to sign with any team. A report from Jordan Schultz on Tuesday suggested the Green Bay Packers were Beckham’s priority destination if he cleared waivers. And when looking at the options, it’s hard to argue against Green Bay as the best landing spot for the two-time All-Pro.

What should a talented 29-year-old receiver hoping to re-establish himself as a top player be looking for next? The search should start (and probably end) with an opportunity to play for a top quarterback on a Super Bowl contender, and the Packers offer both.

What team can present a situation that beats playing with three-time MVP Aaron Rodgers as a secondary weapon behind All-Pro Davante Adams for a talented team with an excellent chance at being the NFC representative in the Super Bowl?

In Green Bay, Beckham could run his share of in-breaking and go routes within Matt LaFleur’s scheme and mostly against single coverage, given how often teams shade help to Adams. He’d no longer be tasked with being the offense’s No. 1 option in the passing game, and there’d be no complaining about the level of quarterback play. A tight, player-led locker room developed in Green Bay under LaFleur could be exactly what he needs at this career crossroads.

The fit makes sense for the Packers as well. Plugging in Beckham as the No. 2 receiver could turn Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb into hyper-specialized complementary players in the passing game while making defensive coordinators second guess all the double teams planned for Adams every week. With Robert Tonyan out for the season, adding another weapon in the passing game, even at receiver, could help. If the Packers really wanted to expand his role, an opportunity to fix the problem at punt returner could make sense.

More than likely, Beckham and the acquiring team will want nothing more than a one-year deal. This would keep his cost down and provide the player a chance to rebuild his value and cash in this spring. This works for both Beckham and the Packers. Green Bay has limited cap space, but adding a cheap weapon in the passing game still fits the “all-in” idea of this season, and Beckham could make himself a lot of money if he’s a big part of a championship season in Green Bay.

There’s a good chance Beckham will have a lot of options to sort through over the next few days. The Saints need a receiver badly. The Seahawks could be in play. The Patriots have often welcomed talented players in situations similar to this.

But do any of those situations compare to what the Packers can offer him?

Many factors usually go into a player’s decision on a new team. In terms of the situation waiting for Beckham, there just isn’t one better than in Green Bay.

WR Odell Beckham goes unclaimed on waivers by Jags, rest of the league

WR Odell Beckham has cleared waivers and he’s now free to sign where he wants, which is likely to be with a contender according to reports.

Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. went unclaimed on the waiver wire Tuesday, making him a free agent. This news comes as the Jacksonville Jaguars (and a few others) had the salary cap to pick up the remainder of the contract he received in 2018.

Many fans wondered if Beckham could be a fit in Duval as the Jags need receiver help desperately with DJ Chark Jr. out for the season, but the veteran would have been owed $7.25 million (for the last nine games) had the Jags picked him up. However, the Jags elected not to take a gamble on Beckham and it may have simply been because Beckham wants to play for a contender. Also, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, there was the potential for there to be problems if a team claimed Beckham that he didn’t feel was a fit.

With the Jags not rolling the dice on Beckham, they will now just hope they can get more out of what they have at receiver. They recently added a former third-round speed threat to their practice squad in John Brown, so maybe he’ll be able to add some much-needed explosiveness to the offense. Regardless, it’s clear the type of long-term help the Jags need at receiver likely won’t be acquired until 2022, but hopefully one of the pieces they have can bridge the gap until then.

Odell Beckham Jr. clears waivers, free to sign with any team

Odell Beckham Jr. has cleared waivers.

Odell Beckham Jr. has cleared waivers. He is now free to sign with any team.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Beckham has totaled 504 catches, 7,062 yards and 51 touchdowns in his career (88 games). He began his career as the hottest young wide receiver in football after the Giants picked him in the first round of the legendary receiver-rich 2014 NFL draft class.

Beckham had one of the most accomplished rookie seasons of any playmaker in league history and posted 35 total touchdown catches his first three years. His production fell off along with Eli Manning’s little remaining arm strength, though and eventually he was traded.

A couple years ago, Cleveland sent first and third-round draft picks plus Jabrill Peppers to New York to get Beckham. However, he never established a real rapport with Baker Mayfield and the Browns’ offense always seemed to flow much smoother without Beckham on the field despite the occasional flashes of his former brilliance. In 29 games with Cleveland, he managed just 1,586 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

The Browns waived Beckham on Monday.

Seattle has reportedly done “extensive research” on Beckham and Russell Wilson has been pushing the team to sign him.

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Seahawks have had ‘internal discussions’ about claiming Odell Beckham Jr.

Now, Jeremy Fowler at ESPN is reporting that the Seahawks have had internal discussions about putting in a waiver claim.

Odell Beckham Jr. was officially waived by the Browns yesterday. The Seahawks are the team that’s been most-often connected with Beckham since the news came out last week that Cleveland would be letting him go. There may also be interest on both sides.

To recap what we’ve learned, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has said that Seattle is on Beckham’s list of preferred destinations and is at the top. Meanwhile, Mike Jones at USA Today has reported Seattle has done “extensive research” on adding Beckham and also that Russell Wilson has personally been urging the team to sign him.

Now, Jeremy Fowler at ESPN is reporting that the Seahawks have had internal discussions about putting in a waiver claim.

Any team that claims Beckham will be on the hook for $7.25 million for the rest of the season. After that, Beckham will become a free agent – part of the restructure with Cleveland eliminated the two remaining years on his contract.

That’s a lot for a half-year rental, but this is OBJ we’re talking about, so it’s worth serious consideration.

The Seahawks have enough salary cap space to claim him. However, So does Jacksonville, Washington and Philadelphia and Seattle is behind them all in the waiver wire order.

Asked about potentially adding Beckham yesterday, head coach Pete Carroll responded that we’ll have to wait and see.

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Russell Wilson has urged Seahawks to sign Odell Beckham

According to a report by Mike Jones at USA Today, the Seahawks have shown “strong interest” in acquiring Beckham and Russell Wilson is lobbying for it.

Odell Beckham Jr. has been waived by the Browns after a restructure, releasing a three-time Pro Bowler onto the market who can make a serious impact on the playoff race.

Even though things didn’t work out for Beckham in Cleveland, we can expect a lot of teams will be interested in getting him. Apparently, Seattle is one of them. According to a report by Mike Jones at USA Today, the Seahawks have shown “strong interest” in acquiring Beckham and Russell Wilson is lobbying for it.

“The Seahawks have shown strong interest in acquiring the wide receiver, the person said. Quarterback Russell Wilson has urged Seahawks brass for a Beckham signing, and in recent days, team officials have done extensive research on the wideout.”

Beckham can officially be claimed on Monday and Seattle is currently No. 9 in the waiver wire order. However, reports indicate that Beckham wants to clear waivers and then sign with a team, preferably a contender.

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Von Miller is recruiting Odell Beckham Jr. to the Rams and Jalen Ramsey is on board

Von Miller has been with the Rams less than a week but he’s already recruiting Odell Beckham Jr. to Los Angeles – and Jalen Ramsey is on board, too 👀

Von Miller has been with the Rams less than a week but he’s already putting in work – both on the field and off it. Miller took a minute to wish Odell Beckham Jr. a happy birthday on Instagram and in doing so, he simultaneously recruited the receiver to the Rams.

The Browns released Beckham on Friday and he’s now subject to waivers. The Rams are toward the bottom of the waiver order so he’ll have to go unclaimed by about 30 teams before they get a shot, but Miller would love to see him in Los Angeles so they can chase a ring together.

Jalen Ramsey is on board, too, liking Miller’s post and commenting, “FACT”.

Miller and Beckham are friends so it’s no surprise that he’d like to see the former All-Pro receiver wearing the same uniform as him. But logistically, it’s unlikely to happen.

The Rams don’t have the cap space or the need for a starting receiver right now, though if Beckham does clear waivers, there could be a different conversation. In that scenario, they could sign him to a new contract, at which point maybe he would take a half-year discount to chase a Super Bowl ring with the Rams.

If the Rams do want to put in a claim for Beckham, they have until 4 p.m. ET on Monday to do so.

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Jerome Baker is trying to recruit Odell Beckham to the Dolphins

At least one person wants OBJ in Miami.

The Cleveland Browns released Odell Beckham Jr. Friday morning, making him available for teams through waivers.

Miami is currently second in waiver priority behind only the Detroit Lions, meaning that if Detroit passes on Beckham, the Dolphins would have an opportunity to grab him before the other 30 teams.

If all 32 teams pass on him on waivers, Beckham would then become a free agent and could sign wherever he wanted. However, there is the benefit of having Beckham on a cost-controlled multi-year deal if he were to be claimed.

Dolphins players have already started their recruiting pitches to Beckham with linebacker Jerome Baker reaching out to the star wide receiver on social media.

Despite the error in word selection that Baker was forced to correct, it’s clear that he’s interested in playing with Beckham. If there are enough veteran leaders in the locker room that support this decision, they may be able to convince general manager Chris Grier to pull the trigger.

There have been discussions had about a disgruntled group of players in Miami, and if the front office and coaches aren’t taking the chance to improve their team, players might view that as giving up, and they may do that too.

Either way, we know at least one person wants Beckham in Miami.

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Odell Beckham’s next NFL team must use his talents correctly

The Browns have released Odell Beckham, but the schism in Cleveland had very little to do with Beckham’s talent. He can still help the right offense.

In March, 2019, the Cleveland Browns sent a 2019 first-round pick, a 2019 third-round pick and safety Jabrill Peppers to the Giants for the services of receiver Odell Beckham Jr. In five seasons with the Giants, the 2014 first-round pick out of LSU ranked 11th in the NFL in receptions (390), 10th in targets (622), seventh in receiving yards (5,476), and third in receiving touchdowns (44). He also became the fastest player in NFL history to reach both 200 career receptions and 4,000 career receiving yards. Beckham did all that despite playing in just 44 games through those five seasons — he played in just four games and had just two starts in 2017 due to an ankle injury, and a quadriceps issue cost him the final four games of the 2018 season, his last with Big Blue.

Beckham also left behind a litany of amazing catches that seemed out of the skill set of most other people playing his position.

During his time with the Browns, Beckham’s productivity has been far more in question. 2019 was the usual good-season-when-healthy — 74 catches on 133 targets for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns in a dysfunctional offense led by head coach Freddie Kitchens.

In Week 7 of the 2020 season under new head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin Stefanski, Beckham — who had caught just 23 passes on 43 targets for 319 yards and three touchdowns — suffered a torn ACL that ended his season. The recovery from that injury also cost him the first two games of the 2021 season, and he made his season debut against the Bears in a 26-6 win in which Beckham caught five passes on seven targets for 77 yards.

That seemed like a nice way to get back in the swing of things, but in the next two games — a 14-7 Week 4 win over the Vikings, and a heartbreaking 47-42 loss to the Chargers — Beckham caught just four passes on 10 targets for 47 yards. Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s inability to connect with Beckham as the Chargers erased and overcame Cleveland’s 27-13 third-quarter lead seemed the last straw for a lot of Browns observers. Now, the only talk about Beckham seems to be what the team could get in trade for him.

Things got no better from there. Beckham caught five passes on eight targets for 79 yards in Cleveland’s 37-14 Week 6 loss to the Cardinals, two passes on six targets for 23 yards in the team’s Week 7 win over the Broncos, and just one pass on two targets for six yards in last Sunday’s loss to the Steelers. On the season, Beckham has 17 catches on 34 targets for 232 yards and no touchdowns. The most stunning number in Beckham’s season is three — he has just three catches on throws of 20 or more air yards this season on 10 targets for 75 yards. That Beckham leads the team in deep targets by a fairly wide margin — rookie receiver Anthony Schwartz ranks second with six — tells you a lot about the state of Cleveland’s passing game in 2021.

Now that this has all come to a head, and the the Browns have released Beckham, what can we tell from Beckham’s limited opportunities regarding his best fits with other NFL offenses?

Why the Texans won’t be in the Odell Beckham sweepstakes

The Houston Texans are going in a direction that wouldn’t be accommodating to Odell Beckham.

The Cleveland Browns waived receiver Odell Beckham after a contract restructuring.

All other 31 NFL teams are asking this natural question: why not take a chance on Beckham?

For the Houston Texans, they wouldn’t be a destination that Beckham would prefer, nor should they get involved in the pursuit.

At 1-7, the Texans are in the midst of a rebuild. Their record is 5-19 going back to Week 1 of the 2020 season. General manager Nick Caserio is having to work through the mess that Bill O’Brien made when chairman and CEO Cal McNair decided to double up the coach as the team’s general manager for the 2020 season — or as soon as Brian Gaine was fired June 7, 2019. Take your pick.

What the Texans are looking to build is a culture.

“Culture’s about habits and about action,” said Caserio. “It’s about work. That’s what culture’s about. It’s being able to build up a series of habits, a series of actions, and putting those in place so you have something sustainable for a long period of time. That’s what we’re trying to do. There’s a lot of work that goes into it, it’s not going to happen all at once. It’s going to take a lot of purposeful effort, purposeful work.”

The Texans are too much work for a player like Beckham, who would be better suited on a team with a decent shot at making the playoffs. Not everyone is like Brandin Cooks, who has said it would be an honor to be on the roster that finally got things turned around in Houston.

If the Texans were where they were even last year at 2-6, it might make some sense to bring in a dynamic playmaker to pair with Deshaun Watson. The Texans need to pass on Beckham and give those reps to rookie third-rounder Nico Collins.

Touchdown Wire’s Week 9 NFL Preview Podcast with Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield preview Week 9 of the NFL season with tape notes and advanced metrics.

Week 9 of the NFL season is here, and as usual, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield are here to break it all down with tape notes and advanced metrics!

Among the topics discussed this week:

  • Was Mike White’s historic first start for the Jets about anything more than the Bengals playing a really passive defense? The Colts are about to tell us;
  • How can the Browns solve the Odell Beckham problem? (Hint: It involves making him more than a decoy on deep passes);
  • What can the Broncos to to stop a Cowboys offense that is performing at an historic rate no matter who’s playing quarterback?
  • Now that the Dolphins are “stuck” with Tua Tagovailoa, how can they maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses in the structure of their offense?
  • Why Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen deserves a whole lot of head coach interviews in the offseason, and how Sean Payton must outdo himself with his quarterback situation;
  • Why we’re all about to remember just how much Lamar Jackson has improved as a pure passer;
  • Whether the Eagles can continue what has been a rough stretch for Justin Herbert;
  • Jordan Love or Patrick Mahomes: Which quarterback has more attendant issues at this point in the season? (And yes, we can’t believe we just asked that question);
  • The one thing that could get the Cardinals bounced right out of the playoffs if they don’t fix it;
  • How Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing can re-do an offense that has lost its identity without Derrick Henry, and…
  • Why the Bears should keep Matt Nagy out of the building if they’re to have any hope against the Steelers.

Listen on Omny Studio:

And watch it on YouTube!