Months in the making, Odell Beckham Jr.‘s free agency tour will begin Thursday with a Giants visit. Friday, Beckham will depart for Buffalo, with perhaps his most pivotal meeting — with Dallas, which is viewed as the favorite — set for Monday.
These visits will not involve any Beckham workouts, according to the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, who notes the eight-year veteran wide receiver is not planning to audition for any of the three teams he will visit. While marquee free agents visiting teams and not working out is nothing new, Beckham’s plan will place a greater emphasis on the interested teams’ medical evaluations.
Giants doctors will examine Beckham, who has twice torn his left ACL since October 2020, and this routine will surely continue in Buffalo and Dallas over the next few days. The Giants’ medical evaluation will include an MRI, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Some skepticism regarding Beckham’s capabilities has emerged around the league recently, but the standout pass catcher is believed to have been cleared for work in November. Early December once resided on the latter end of OBJ’s projected return timetable, but his Rams contributions have still convinced teams to wait late into this season.
Beckham, 30, will meet with new Giants power brokers Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, along with staffers who were with the Giants during his five-season New York stay, and reconnect with John Mara. More serious discussions will be expected to commence Friday, Schwartz adds.
The Giants gave Beckham a five-year, $90MM extension just before the 2018 season began, and while that year did include a bounce back from a lost 2017 season, OBJ’s 1,052-yard campaign also happened during a season in which he criticized Eli Manning in a TV interview. The then-Dave Gettleman-led Giants regime traded Beckham to the Browns in March 2019. Among the players exchanged in that deal, only Dexter Lawrence remains with one of those teams.
As for Beckham’s fit with the Schoen-Daboll Giants, he would slide in as a potentially lethal X-factor — depending on his readiness and grasp of Daboll’s system — and help a Giants team that has seen its receiver plan change drastically from September. Ex-Beckham teammate Sterling Shepard is out for the season; so is second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson. Kadarius Toney is now in Kansas City, and Kenny Golladay‘s $18MM-per-year pact has produced next to nothing. Months-long trade candidate Darius Slayton, who was drafted a month after the OBJ trade, is now Daniel Jones‘ No. 1 target.
Jones and Beckham never played together, but if OBJ returns to the Big Apple, he would be a critical aid to the fourth-year quarterback and the team’s quest to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. That season marks Beckham’s most recent Pro Bowl year. Despite injuries and a poor Cleveland fit, he has remained on the star tier. Teams’ offers during this unique free agency derby will be telling. Beckham is believed to be seeking a multiyear commitment.
Antonio Brown’s brand of nonsense popping up in the news is a great way to make OBJ’s brand of nonsense look tolerable in comparison.
People hate to admit it but it’s true. AB’s been booked several times. What’s Odell’s worst infraction, the thing he did the other day that he didn’t get charged for?
Yeah, Beckham gets hurt a lot and certainly seems like an epic pain in the neck at times, but even then, he’s largely been famously well liked by teammates (other than Baker Mayfield). From the way people talk about him, you’d think he was actually getting in real trouble all the time like Brown.
He does like to throw his quarterback under the bus publicly. He did with Eli and Mayfield. I’m sure he wouldn’t like if Josh Allen or Dak throws him under the bus if he doesn’t perform
Hurting a quarterback’s feelings is a far cry from actually hurting people.
Eli and Mayfield were actually playing poorly. Sorry he was honest I guess.
Mayfield was hurt and still going out there for his teammates. Eli won 2 Super Bowls without Beckham. You don’t trash teammates publicly. Beckham is nowhere near the player he used to be and his quarterbacks haven’t trashed him.
Good point actually
Red flag for any team. Sign me to multiple years but you can’t see my progress from ACL surgery as a judge? Teams looking for him this year appear in 2022 appear to be getting poor bill of goods. Risk vs Reward seem to be pointed more to Risk!
I agree
Forcing 2 teams to trade you doesn’t make you a good sign. AB is definitely a worse person but I wouldn’t want my Eagles getting anywhere near him.
Last team that got near him won the Super Bowl, with him catching a touchdown pass. I get being hesitant–and you root for a team with a strong 1-2 punch and a couple of good role players at receiver, so it’s moot for you–but if he’s in playing shape, a handful of teams could really use him.
IF he’s in playing shape is kinda the whole question. He was for the Rams. Is he now?
You gotta remember it took him multiple games to help the Rams. He wasn’t injured when he got to them. Check his numbers, he wasn’t much better with the Rams than he was with Cleveland last year (per game stats) and he had a much better and healthier quarterback throwing him passes,plus he had Cupp taking the double team away from him. He thinks he’s better than he is.
He caught touchdown passes in 5 of his 8 games with the Rams, even though he was learning a new offense and playing with a new QB. One of the 3 games he didn’t catch a touchdown pass was his first game, which was four days after signing with them. He also caught 21 passes for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns in the playoffs, even though he only was able to play 24 snaps in the Super Bowl. He wasn’t a superstar for the Rams, but he was an important contributor and a caliber of receiver a lot of teams could use right now.
He also sat shotgun to Cooper Kupp. He wasn’t WR1/The Man.
However, if he can get a nice deal then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Who cares if he was second fiddle to Kupp? Capitalizing on being that secondary option was the job and he did it effectively. Look how much teams are investing to have more than one strong receiving option. No one here is arguing he should be considered a number one receiver. The Bills and Cowboys certainly wouldn’t. Productive second and third options are valuable and important, too, and there are teams who could really use what he did last year.
He doesn’t want to be paid like a 2nd or 3rd option. If what I’ve read is accurate. Heard he wants ARob contract
No one here is arguing if he’s a WR1, but surely Odell and his agents are arguing this. Can’t pay a 2/3 guy 1 money, simple business.
Good. Now take a look at his first 5 games with the Rams. He may help next year, but by the time he hits the field, there’s only gonna be 5 games left. It’s gonna take him longer than that. He’s not worth it this year. He’s old and injury prone. Plus he wants a multi year deal and big money
He scored three touchdowns in those first five games. And just because he’s made noise about wanting a multi-year deal at big money doesn’t mean that’s what it’ll end up costing to get him. He can say he wants an ARob contract, but if he actually wants to sign, no one is giving him $30 million in guarantees in December.
That’s the whole thing. He’s not worth the money. Glad you agree with me finally
I don’t think he’s going to get money no one was ever going to realistically give him. I think most of what you’ve said is wrong.
Of course you do. You’re always right. Do you comment on every article all day long?
Do you always take it personally when a pro athlete has an ego?
The fanbois forget that Robert Woods, a reliable pass-catcher, tore his ACL in practice a couple of days after Beckham joined L.A. The Rams already had Kupp as a go-to guy so that kept the heat off Beckham.
Woods is now in Tennessee, Kupp is on season-ending IR, and Beckham has gone full diva.
Who cares if Woods is in Tennessee or if Kupp is on IR? The Rans are 3-8. The teams seemingly interested in Beckham are all in the playoff hunt.
We all know that plane ride fiasco is the reason everybody backing away. Could be worst he could have miles bridges judgement.
Meh. Todd Downing much did worse and didn’t even have to miss a game. I think his ability and willingness to show his health and playing shape will be much bigger deals.
Do you know if anyone’s life was affected because of Beckham’s plane delay? Maybe someone needed to get somewhere fast? You don’t know. We know Downing didn’t cause any wreck
“ Standout Wideout? “ really since when? 5 years ago?
Hope Jerry signs him with a lot of guaranteed money only to find out he no longer has femurs.
A workout will answer questions a ton of medical reports can’t but the NFL always favors the cart before the horse approach.
Won’t be doing any workouts to prove he has speed after 2 ACL surgeries? Bridge-burning history with NYG and CLE? No 1000 yard season since 2019. Too many red flags. Pass.
Won’t work out for anyone? Any team that offers him millions thinking he’ll help them this season is foolish.
Total $hit $how. Please stop covering his nonsense.
Why would they stop covering it? Beckham is a football player and these are rumors about him, meaning this 100% fits “pro football rumors.”
Certainly he is a football player. A good one when he plays. Cover that, but he’s also a self centered nut job that has little to do with football.
Marquee free agent or not… He is potentially damaged goods, and if I’m the guy he’s hitting up for millions of dollars, I wanna see you run and make sharp cuts first…
“Sorry, man, I’m not doing a workout for you.”
“Sorry, man, I’m not signing any checks for you.”
No workout…..no contract!
Rather my team sign AB
Are you mad at your team?
More or less Odell is highly overrated and AB would be a better performer today on the field.
Well that’s a red flag…..