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Latest On Cowboys, Odell Beckham Jr.

December 20th, 2022 at 2:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Twists keep coming in the Cowboys’ Odell Beckham Jr. saga. Days after proclaiming the free agent wide receiver would join the Cowboys, Jerry Jones is backing off.

This lengthy courtship has gone from the Cowboys being the runaway favorites to rumblings of OBJ’s health scuttling a deal to Jones being OK with Beckham’s playoffs-only plan to now the owner indicating time is slipping away regarding a deal.

“I don’t I don’t have an assessment of that,” Jones said during his latest 105.3 The Fan appearance regarding a potential Beckham deal (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill). “But as of this morning, we don’t have anything but I don’t I don’t have an assessment. The reality is though that time is moving on down the road relative to being relative to playing in the playoffs. And so every day diminishes our chances of going forward.”

Despite Jones’ comments last week, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson adds (via Twitter) no deal was imminent at that point and nothing is believed to be in the works early this week. While we have heard next to nothing on Beckham and the Bills or Giants, it is safe to still call the Cowboys the favorites. But this will-they/won’t-they drama is now late in its second month.

The Rams led the way on the OBJ front for months, but their incentive-laden offer and on-field struggles took them out of the mix. The Cowboys did not surface as a team to watch until shortly after failing to acquire Brandin Cooks and Jerry Jeudy at the trade deadline. Nearly two months have passed since the Cowboys zoomed onto the Beckham radar, but the 30-year-old pass catcher’s injury timetable continues to be pushed back. Long thought to be ready to play by December, Beckham has since indicated hopes of signing with a team ahead of the playoffs for the purposes of ramping up toward a postseason return.

The Cowboys boast a deeper receiver situation than they did to start this season. Despite third-round rookie Jalen Tolbert failing to carve out playing time, Dallas has seen Michael Gallup regain some of his pre-ACL-tear form and Noah Brown enjoy his best season yet. James Washington has debuted, and T.Y. Hilton is now on the team. The 10-year Colt has not made his Cowboys debut yet, however. Beckham seems to still have a path to join this contingent, but his price point — once thought to be around $20MM AAV on a multiyear deal — certainly has impacted negotiations as well. Ten months after the former Giants, Browns and Rams receiver suffered his second ACL tear, the wait continues.

Jerry Jones: ‘Odell’s Going To Join Us’

December 18th, 2022 at 2:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

DECEMBER 18: Adding further detail to Dallas’ ongoing pursuit, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes that Jones has exclusively been the one involved in communication with Beckham throughout the latter stages of this process. The team informed Hilton of their intention of still inking Beckham to a deal despite the addition of the longtime Colt, but he has reciprocated their enthusiasm for a Beckham deal aimed at boosting a postseason run.

DECEMBER 16: After the Odell Beckham Jr. market looked to be slowing, Jerry Jones is accelerating it to the point he expects the eight-year veteran to sign with the Cowboys soon.

Jones had said Beckham playing in the regular season would factor in heavily to a Cowboys signing, but even after OBJ made comments indicating he would prefer to join a team with the intent of preparing to play only in the playoffs, the longtime owner expects this agreement to go through.

“Odell’s going to join us,” Jones said, via USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. “There’s a good chance he will, with the complete goal of getting ready for a playoff game or two, and then I’ll look to the future. But most of it being about now.”

Viewed as the frontrunners ahead of Beckham’s three-visit week, the Cowboys could move to make this long-rumored signing after their Week 15 game against the Jaguars, Bell adds. While Beckham has angled for a multiyear deal, Jones said the focus on a Cowboys agreement would be for the rest of this season.

Beckham’s Cowboys visit produced several headlines centered around his ACL rehab needing more time than expected. Rumors about Beckham not being ready to go until February surfaced. Beckham tweeted a pawn emoji following the visit, and although the same kind of leaks about his health did not surface after his Giants and Bills visits, rumors connecting him to the New York suitors have died down. Conversely, the Cowboys have continued to talk with Beckham and share that these talks are occurring. Jones’ confidence here points to this process being near the finish line, which would bring an end to one of the longest-running free agency sagas in NFL history.

The former Pro Bowler did not work out for the Giants, Bills or Cowboys, but Jones confirmed Beckham has been working out and “is extraordinary.” Following a week and change of uncertainty in the Cowboys-Beckham drama, the tone here seems to have shifted back to lavish praise. Jones and several Cowboys players spent time recruiting the marquee free agent ahead of and during his time in Dallas last week, and though Beckham’s hopes for a deal in the $20MM-AAV range never seemed in step with his situation, a uniquely structured contract may be in the cards.

Beckham is an in-season free agent for the second straight year, and it will be interesting to see how is Cowboys contract — in the event Jones and Co. finalize this accord, at long last — compares to his incentive-laden Rams pact (which ended up paying out $4.75MM) from November 2021. Beckham’s second ACL tear in a 20-month span cost him a lucrative free agency payday this year. The former Giants, Browns and Rams target could attempt to skip this season in an effort to prioritize a 2023 market run — a rumored scenario around the league this week — but Jones believes OBJ will play this season.

Should Beckham sign, the Cowboys will be set to deploy an intriguing receiving corps for the playoffs. The team has CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, the latter having recovered from a December 2021 ACL tear, leading the way. And Dalton Schultz has improved after a slow start. Beckham would also stand to reduce the roles of James Washington, Noah Brown and recent signee T.Y. Hilton. Acclimation issues may emerge, as it is not exactly common for teams to introduce a high-profile skill player into the mix in the playoffs, but Beckham and Dak Prescott navigating those would raise the Cowboys’ offensive ceiling — assuming Beckham is full-go by mid-January.

“I’m hopeful we can get into some important games and have some Deion Sanders-type results,” Jones said. “Could this be possible to have a great player like that get in two or three playoff games and make some significant plays? I think very much so. That’s not an exaggerated thought at all.”

Beckham is coming off a turbulent 2021, which involved him forcing his way out of Cleveland, but the LSU alum’s form during the postseason has driven this market. The former Giants first-rounder topped 100 yards in the Rams’ NFC championship game win and was well on his way to matching that performance in Super Bowl LVI, before his second-quarter injury. We may soon finally see how Beckham looks coming off his second major knee setback.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/17/22

December 17th, 2022 at 5:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

  • Promoted: C Brock Hoffman

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Tyron Smith Expected To Return In Week 15, Play Right Tackle

December 17th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

TODAY, 1:15pm: Tyron Smith has indeed been activated from injured reserve, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The offensive lineman doesn’t have an injury status for tomorrow’s game.

FRIDAY, 3:00pm: Terence Steele‘s season-ending injury has changed the Cowboys’ plans. Rather than slide Tyron Smith back into the spot at which he earned All-Decade acclaim, the Cowboys are preparing for both their Smith blockers to line up at tackle this week.

Tyler Smith is expected to remain at left tackle, and Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News notes Dallas’ 11-year blindside starter is likely to line up on the right side against the Jaguars on Sunday. The Cowboys are planning to activate Tyron Smith from IR. He has missed the team’s first 13 games because of a torn hamstring.

The Cowboys had planned to move Tyler Smith to left guard, but Steele’s injury looks to have nixed that idea. Rather than moving a rookie off the spot he has played all season, Dallas will ask one of this era’s best left tackles to work at a position he has not played since his 2011 rookie year. Josh Ball replaced Steele in Week 14, and earlier this week, it appeared (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins, on Twitter) the plan would be for Ball and Jason Peters to rotate at right tackle. A more interesting solution appears in the cards.

Dallas has two of the most recent All-Decade team’s left tackles, in Peters and Tyron Smith, but the former has not played on the right side since 2006. Peters has transitioned to guard this season, rotating in as a backup at points prior to his right-edge cameo in Week 14. The 40-year-old blocker represents an unusual swing player, but he replaced Ball on Dallas’ game-winning drive against the Texans.

Mike McCarthy said he tried as many as five O-line combinations Thursday, though the easiest way to not disrupt continuity would be to plug in Tyron Smith and leave the other four spots unchanged. It does represent an interesting ask from the Cowboys, with Smith coming back after a near-four-month absence and being thrown into a new role. Should this not work out, however, the team has some flexibility here.

It would make for quite the interesting footnote in O-line history if two likely Hall of Fame left tackles each played on the right side in the same game. Although it is not known who will start, that could very well happen.

Injury Notes: Dolphins, Bills, Hankins, Allen

December 17th, 2022 at 8:53am CST by Ely Allen

As we head into what could very well be the season’s first true snow game, the Dolphins and Bills will be preparing to play without a few key players. Miami will be playing without safety Eric Rowe, while Buffalo will head into the matchup without offensive guard Ryan Bates.

Rowe hasn’t been the prominent defensive player he was during his first two seasons in Miami but was forced back into a starting role when safety Brandon Jones was placed on injured reserve. A hamstring injury will hold Rowe out of tonight’s game, pushing the Dolphins to their third-string safety.

With Elijah Campbell also out tonight with a concussion, Miami has only two options to turn to at safety. The team will either have to start undrafted rookie Verone McKinley, who started a game earlier on this year, or veteran Clayton Fejedelem, who hasn’t started a game since 2018 when he was with the Bengals, alongside regular starter Jevon Holland. McKinley did overlap with Holland at Oregon with the two playing a year together in the Ducks’ secondary. The team also has the option of pushing a cornerback like veteran Justin Bethel into the safety role if needed.

The Bills will be without Bates to start a game for the first time this season. Bates suffered an ankle injury in last week’s win over the Jets that knocked him out of the game. Buffalo used two players to fill in for Bates in Greg Van Roten and Bobby Hart. Seeing how Van Roten got the majority of the snaps last week, he’s likely to be tapped to start this week in place of Bates.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the league, these both from the NFC:

  • Cowboys veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins suffered a sprained pectoral muscle early in last week’s win over the Texans, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. The injury appears to be significant as owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones told the media that, while Hankins may make a return for the playoffs, “he won’t be back before then.” The foreseen absence has led the team to place Hankins on IR. Any starts or playing time for Hankins will likely be taken by a combination of Neville Gallimore, Quinton Bohanna, and Carlos Watkins for the remainder of the regular season.
  • The Cardinals also lost a defensive lineman to a significant injury last week when defensive end Zach Allen injured his hand in the third quarter of Monday’s loss to the Patriots, according to Charean Williams of NBC Sports. Allen underwent surgery on his hand that will keep him out this week against the Broncos. When asked about Allen’s prospects to return this season, head coach Kliff Kinsgbury responded with uncertainty. Allen is headed to free agency at the end of this season and, after a strong showing last year with four sacks, five tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hits, Allen improved greatly in his contract year tallying 5.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 19 quarterback hits. Arizona doesn’t have much depth on the defensive line, so Jonathan Ledbetter will likely earn the start opposite J.J. Watt this week while the Cardinals may need to elevate some reinforcements from the practice squad.

Latest On Cowboys’ Odell Beckham Jr. Pursuit, T.Y. Hilton Contract

December 15th, 2022 at 12:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Since Odell Beckham Jr. visited the Cowboys last week, Bills and Giants connections to the high-profile free agent have been sparse. But OBJ’s Cowboys summit began a run of injury drama. Nevertheless, the NFC East squad remains attached to a possible deal.

Jerry Jones said (via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer) to “stand by” regarding a potential Beckham agreement, adding “this thing could break.” Seeming to recognize his team’s pole position in this unusual free agency derby, Jones continues to discuss Beckham openly. That said, NFL.com’s Jane Slater, while noting Jones’ “wild card” status, tweets a deal is unlikely as of now.

Beckham’s reported hopes for a multiyear contract in the $20MM-AAV range were never realistic, and after his Cowboys visit wrapped, Dallas was not believed to have made an offer. Beckham, 30, had planned to choose a team shortly after his visits concluded. But the offers — if any occurred during his three visits — do not appear to have been satisfactory. This led to a Wednesday report indicating teams believe Beckham will sit out the season and wait for 2023, rather than play on a lesser deal and risk reinjury now. That strategy has always made the most sense, but the Cowboys are not closing up shop just yet.

In the meantime, the Cowboys have T.Y. Hilton in the fold. Brought in reportedly to be an immediate depth piece while the team determines its Beckham path, Hilton secured a $600K guarantee for the Cowboys’ final four games, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Hilton’s Dallas deal, thanks to its $50K per-game roster bonuses and $700K in playoff incentives, can max out at $1.5MM. If the Cowboys win a wild-card game and Hilton plays at least 30% of their offensive snaps, Pelissero adds (via Twitter) the 11th-year receiver will collect $100K. That structure applies to the divisional round ($150K), the NFC championship game ($200K) and Super Bowl LVII ($250K).

While it is worth noting the Cowboys have not ventured to the NFC title game since their Super Bowl XXX appearance 27 years ago, they are 10-3 and brought in Hilton to help negotiate this persistent barrier. Hilton, 33, said he fielded calls from several teams this offseason but opted to remain a free agent and watch his sons’ football seasons, waiting for the right offer.

“I had a great offseason just watching them and I got a couple of calls, a lot of calls,” Hilton said, via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. “I told my agent if I get the right call, the right situation, I’m interested. I feel like this is the right situation.”

Hilton said he was healthy to close last season, leading him to consider another year. Among active wideouts, only DeSean Jackson (35) and A.J. Green (34) are older than Hilton, who joins Julio Jones and Cole Beasley as receivers currently in an age-33 season. A four-time Pro Bowler, Hilton is the third-leading receiver in Colts history. He did post a 762-yard season in 2020, but after missing a chunk of last year due to a neck injury, the former Andrew Luck target totaled just 331 yards on 23 receptions in 2021. The Colts moved on this offseason, drafting Alec Pierce in the second round to complement Michael Pittman Jr.

The Cowboys will add Hilton a receiver mix including CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Noah Brown and the recently activated James Washington. It will be interesting to see what Hilton has left, and it is conceivable the longtime Colt’s performance could impact the Cowboys’ Beckham pursuit. But the team has chased Beckham for several weeks and has been the only suitor linked to him over the past several days. The saga continues, but Hilton will attempt to help the contending team in the meantime.

Teams Expecting Odell Beckham Jr. To Sit Out Season?

December 14th, 2022 at 10:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Odell Beckham Jr. hype train has slowed down. The last of Beckham’s three free agency visits ended more than a week ago, and it produced a run of headlines pertaining to the high-profile wide receiver’s late-season availability.

Skepticism about Beckham being able to contribute for a contender this season had brewed before he embarked on his free agency tour, and his Cowboys meeting led to reports of a further delayed timetable — compared to the long-rumored November-December return window. This preceded Beckham coming out and saying he preferred to sign with a team and only play in the playoffs. OBJ now looks to be considering moving that timetable back further.

Several teams believe Beckham is moving toward shutting down his efforts to play this season, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes. It is fairly clear the offers Beckham sought — reportedly in the $20MM-AAV range on a multiyear accord — have not emerged. The Cowboys are not believed to have submitted an offer during their visit, despite weeks of courting the former Pro Bowler. Beckham, 30, would be in a better position to hit free agency healthy if he did not attempt to play this season.

Mentioned as an option here, Beckham punting on the 2022 campaign would put him in line to be part of a thin free agent receiver class. Ahead of potential cap casualties, next year’s UFA crop stands to be headlined by DJ Chark, Jakobi Meyers, Allen Lazard and JuJu Smith-Schuster. This class is believed to be affecting Beckham’s plans, per Fowler, who adds that teams who have done homework on the eight-year vet expect him to wait and be part of this crop.

Taking this route will mean a 19-month gap between games for the former Giants, Browns and Rams wideout, who has been rehabbing his second ACL tear. The money OBJ would have received this offseason, had he not been injured, may never be available to him again. While Beckham already played four seasons on a five-year, $95MM deal he signed back in 2018, the first half of Super Bowl LVI showed he still had plenty left in the tank. Regrouping for 2023 may still limit his earning power, due to age and injury history, but it would protect him against a reinjury this year crushing his value — perhaps irrevocably.

That said, a Beckham-Cowboys partnership is not dead yet. The Cowboys signed T.Y. Hilton this week, and Josina Anderson of CBS Sports tweets that move partially came about because the team is not certain how long the end of Beckham’s rehab effort will take. One report indicated Beckham would not be ready to play again until February 2023. Jerry Jones said Beckham playing during the regular season was important for a signing to commence, but he stopped short of saying it was mandatory. Jones said late last week the sides were still talking, and Anderson adds (via Twitter) they huddled up again Monday night to discuss terms and a timetable.

Dallas has won four straight and now has a deeper receiving corps than it carried into the season. Michael Gallup is healthier, while James Washington made his debut in Week 14 after missing most of the season due to a foot fracture. A four-time Pro Bowler during his 10-season Colts stay, Hilton supplies more depth for the CeeDee Lamb-fronted group. A healthy Beckham would certainly make the Cowboys’ offense more dangerous, but it became clear last week the Cowboys do not view Beckham as healthy.

Injuries to other teams’ receiving cadres likely will continue to keep a late-season OBJ signing on the radar, but both the Cowboys and Bills (Cole Beasley, John Brown) have made moves to add lower-profile depth recently. Beckham attempting to be the rare impact player to spend a season without a team and come back would make for an interesting scenario, and more teams figure to pursue him in free agency come March. Will that now be the window when Beckham finally signs?

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/14/22

December 14th, 2022 at 7:03pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Cowboys Claim CB Trayvon Mullen

December 14th, 2022 at 5:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

DECEMBER 14: The Cowboys have claimed Mullen off waivers, per Garafolo (Twitter link). Dallas has been dealing with multiple injuries at the position, including the Achilles tear recently suffered by Anthony Brown. That has let the team in search of depth options late in the campaign.

The most recent example of that was the practice squad deal signed by veteran Mackensie Alexander last week. Mullen will likewise get an opportunity play at least a rotational role during Dallas’ closing games of the regular season and, presumably, the playoffs, aiming to rebuild some of his value along the way.

DECEMBER 13: A full-time starter during much of his Raiders run, Trayvon Mullen could not secure a first-string spot with the Cardinals. The team will move on from the fourth-year cornerback, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter).

Arizona sent a conditional draft choice to Las Vegas for Mullen on cutdown day in August. Had Mullen been active for 10 games, the pick would have become a 2023 sixth-rounder. Because the former second-rounder only suited up for eight, the pick will be a seventh.

Still, this represents a disappointing development for both the Cardinals and Mullen. The Clemson product had started 31 games during his three Raiders seasons. Although he played a season-high 42 defensive snaps Monday night, the Cards are still moving on. Mullen only surpassed 30 defensive snaps in one game — the loss to the Patriots.

In limited work, Mullen allowed a career-high 12.1 yards per target and a staggering 156.7 quarterback rating as the closest defender in coverage this season. A Cardinals team that spent much of the offseason in need at corner traded for Mullen just as it was finalizing its initial 53-man roster, but the Raiders’ new regime was planning to cut him. That led to the low-end compensation for a player who was a full-time starter during Jon Gruden‘s time with the Raiders.

The 40th overall pick in 2019, Mullen landed on IR twice last season. Foot trouble led to both stints, and Mullen underwent foot surgery during the spring. He began the Raiders’ training camp on their active/PUP list and did not begin practicing until mid-August. Mullen did not make his Cardinals debut until Week 3 of this season. Arizona has used Marco Wilson and journeyman Antonio Hamilton ahead of Mullen alongside Byron Murphy this season.

Mullen joins Alex Leatherwood and Johnathan Abram as highly drafted players from the Raiders’ Gruden-Mike Mayock era to be waived this year. Both Leatherwood and Abram are still tied to their rookie deals, via waiver claims (two in Abram’s case). Mullen will hit free agency if he is not claimed by Wednesday afternoon.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/14/22

December 14th, 2022 at 4:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s practice squad moves:

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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