The Browns and Saints discussed a trade that would have sent Odell Beckham Jr. to New Orleans 
(Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Kimberley A. Martin). Ultimately, the two sides couldn’t get a deal done, largely due to OBJ’s salary.
No offers came in that would have made sense for the Browns, per Dianna Russini of ESPN.com. Although there are no post-2021 guarantees in Beckham’s Giants-constructed contract, the eighth-year wide receiver is due more than $7MM in base salary for the rest of this season. He has also struggled (again) to carve out a steady role in Cleveland’s offense this season.
Beckham hasn’t been totally healthy since 2019, when he notched 74 catches for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns for the Browns. Meanwhile, he’s spent much of his Cleveland tenure at odds with coaches and management. Today, his camp seems to have stoked the flames of a potential trade sending him elsewhere.
Odell Beckham Sr. posted a video on Instagram of his son breaking open on various routes that did not produce targets from Baker Mayfield. The elder Beckham also appeared to endorse a comment that read “[Mayfield is] either hating on Odell or he just doesn’t want him shining,” via ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter. LeBron James weighed in on OBJ’s status as well, dropping a #FreeOBJ into a tweet supporting a player who has never truly fit in the Browns’ offense.
Cleveland acquired Beckham in March 2019, sending Jabrill Peppers and a first-round pick (which ended up being defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence) to New York. Beckham made three Pro Bowls as a Giant and totaled four 1,000-yard seasons in five years with his initial team, but in addition to never fitting in with the Browns, the soon-to-be 29-year-old weapon has been frequently hurt. He played through injuries in 2019 and suffered an ACL tear in 2020 — one that kept him out for the first two games of this season. In six games upon returning, Beckham has only topped the two-reception mark twice. He caught one pass for six yards in the Browns’ Week 8 loss to the Steelers.
The Saints are still waiting for All-Pro Michael Thomas‘ return from a late-offseason surgery, though they have since seen fourth-year contributor Tre’Quan Smith return. No Saints pass catcher has topped 300 yards this season, with Marquez Callaway leading the way with 284 yards — a chunk of those coming on a Hail Mary reception in Washington. The Saints cleared more than $100MM in cap space earlier this year, so adding Beckham’s base salary likely would not have been a deal-breaker for a team perpetually up against the salary ceiling. But the sides could not agree on terms, ensuring OBJ will finish a third season in Cleveland.
Very disappointed in Stefanski this year. He calls the plays and Beckham wasn’t targeted anymore when Keenum started. Not totally blaming Mayfield. I’ve seen the video Beckham Sr put out there and OBJ was definitely opened on the plays but Mayfield was eying the other side of the field which leads me to believe that the play called was to a different receiver. Stefanski needs to get Beckham more involved earlier even if it’s WR screens.
He’d probably drop those screen passes too.
People rip on Clowney for making a career out of one play, but this dude still has people calling him an elite WR even though he is living off of 1 catch.
1 catch? I’m no OBJ defender but come on bro, look at his first 3 yrs in the league.
My dad stuck up for me too. He told my big sister to leave me alone when I was watching Batman
I had the complete Batman card set from 1966 when I was a kid. It sells for over $700 on E-Bay now.
You probably paid about $5 in ’66 for it (total guess). That means it appreciated about 9% per year, which is nice for $5, but don’t beat yourself up over it, lemon : )
Back then you got a pack of 4 cards for five cents and we kids always felt cheated because the piece of chewing gum that was included was harder than a rock and tasteless…lol.
Don’t have a QB but want a WR?
Semien going to surprise a few people. 13-12 as a NFL starter. Is with QB guru in Payton. Anyone that can get Winston playing without being a turnover machine can get wins from Semien. Anyway…It’s all we got as a real NFL starting QB. OBJ would have made things a lot easier too
Addition by subtraction. Browns should have simply taken whatever the best offer was for OBJ.
I’m a Browns fan and I agree. It sucks because he’s still got a ton of talent and might still be good somewhere else, but it’s pretty obvious that it’s not gonna work out in Cleveland with him. It’s hard to actually believe that Baker is better without him, but in a decent enough sample size the difference has been pretty massive.
I’m pretty sure his guarantees are all paid out after this year, so cutting him would clear a big chunk of cap space that they could use on extensions or outside free agents. The same goes for Hooper.
Dude has been pretty cool since being here and really hasn’t caused any distraction and I think he deserves better, he and Mayfield both. Really felt he had to go for the betterment of all involved and as for the season, well here came the inevitable distraction.