As free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. continues to work his way back from the ACL injury that ended his first appearance in the Super Bowl after only a quarter and a half, rumors have run rampant on where his next destination will be. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones spoke recently on the NFL’s Sirius XM channel about the desire he has to bring Beckham to Dallas, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. 
Jones, much like his father, Cowboys owner, president, and general manager Jerry Jones, double dips in his duties serving not only as vice president but as CEO and director of player personnel for the team, as well. Therefore, the younger Jones’ comments on Beckham hold some weight, as he does have input on the team’s personnel decisions. “It’s hard not to imagine how a healthy OBJ could really help us out,” Jones told the show. “He did that for the Rams last year.”
Jones is referring to the impact Beckham made for Los Angeles after signing with the Rams at this point in the season (on this exact day, to be specific) last year. After six fairly unproductive games with the Browns to start the 2021 season, Beckham was excused from two practices before the two parties agreed to separate, leading Cleveland to eventually waive the three-time Pro Bowler.
Beckham took some time deciding where he would sign before eventually joining the Rams. After failing to amass a single touchdown and only gaining 232 yards through six weeks with the Browns, Beckham found a role with the Rams, who had just lost Robert Woods for the season to an ACL tear of his own. In the final eight games of the season, Beckham caught 27 balls for 305 yards and five touchdowns.
Beckham’s effectiveness continued in the Rams’ run to the Super Bowl, catching 19 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown in the three games leading up to the season finale. Beckham even left his mark in the Super Bowl, opening the game’s scoring with a 17-yard touchdown catch before being forced to exit the game with two receptions for 52 yards and the lone touchdown.
The 2021 Rams were already seeing success before Beckham arrived with a 7-2 start to the season. After he arrived, they finished the season 5-3 in the last eight games, including a five-game win streak, before going undefeated in the postseason. The 2022 Cowboys are similarly seeing success at 6-2 so far this year despite only seeing three games from starting quarterback Dak Prescott. The rest of their schedule holds some challenges that adding Beckham could assist with. After their bye week, the Cowboys head to Green Bay to face a down Packers team, but the Packers always seem to find a way to break Dallas hearts. After that they’ll face a strong Vikings squad before finishing out their division race which includes games against the surprising Giants and undefeated Eagles.
The Cowboys defense and rushing offense have really helped the team succeed so far this year. One of the biggest perceived holes on the team has been the presence of receiving options behind top pass-catcher CeeDee Lamb. Lamb leads the team with 42 catches for 556 yards and three touchdowns. With the departure of Amari Cooper, free agent addition James Washington on injured reserve, and Michael Gallup still getting back to 100% after his own ACL tear from late last season, the Cowboys have turned to former seventh-round pick Noah Brown as their second option at wide receiver. Brown has certainly contributed with 25 receptions for 339 yards and a touchdown, but his 39 targets are fewer that Lamb’s receptions-total and nearly half of Lamb’s target-share.
Dallas can depend on Lamb to lead the pass-catching group. The tight ends contribute with Dalton Schultz as a provider of production in the offense and Jake Ferguson proving effective in the red zone with two touchdown receptions this season. Running back Tony Pollard provides an effective pass-catching option out of the backfield with 12 catches and 121 receiving yards of his own. Adding Beckham to this group as the second receiver opposite Lamb could pay huge dividends for this offense that recently got Prescott back behind center.
Realistically, the odds of landing Beckham were something that Jones put into perspective. “(Beckham) can go wherever he wants, but we want to make our compelling case,” Jones said. He didn’t dismiss the idea of offering Beckham a multi-year deal, a larger commitment than the one-year contract the Rams gave Beckham last year. “At the end of the day, it’s about business, as well, so we’ll just roll up our sleeves and see if there’s an opportunity to put a star on Odell’s helmet.”
Beckham’s agent must be slipping cash to people in order to get them to write stories about him.
I love that for the 5 years or so of hiring actual competent people to run his team, Jerry Jones has 3 Lombardi’s to show for it, but for the past 30 years he’s like “nah, me and my kid got this…”
I can relate. Live 30 minutes from both M & T Bank Stadium and Fed Ex Field. Biscotti stays in the background, only occasionally displaying public activity/action. He lets his football people make the football decisions. Snyder is visible and involved (and for awhile now not for the best of reasons). Much prefer following the Ravens. The Biscotti approach to ownership ownership, IMO, makes it much more enjoyable to follow the sport. Plus they win alot.
“(Beckham) can go wherever he wants, but we want to make our compelling case,”
I’m not sure how compelling being next to last in time of possession is going to be. Of course the Cowboys can always pursue Dez Bryant if they lose out in the OBJ sweepstakes.
Surprised I was able to read all of this nonsense without making a comment
Perhaps we can convince the staff to allow animated gifs of the eye roll variety.
If tampering were regulated in the NFL as much as it is in the NBA, Cowboys would be racking up the fines right now.
Actually, never mind, he’s a free agent.