After all the speculation and rumors about where Odell Beckham Jr. could land that occurred all week, he finally decided where he will spend the rest of the 2021-22 NFL season. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Odell Beckham Jr. is finalizing a deal with the Los Angeles Rams. He later reported that Beckham Jr. is signing a one-year deal with the team.
Former Browns’ WR Odell Beckham Jr is finalizing a deal with the Los Angeles Rams, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 11, 2021
NFL Network’s Kim Jones reported that the two finalists were the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers. She later confirmed that Beckham Jr. was signing in Los Angeles reporting that Beckham Jr. had texted her “Rams”. There were reports earlier this week that Green Bay was Beckham Jr.’s first choice. However, it was reported that the Packers were only offering Beckham Jr. a minimum deal. That is not completely shocking considering the conservative nature that Packers have had when making transitions over the franchise’s history. Other reports showed that the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, and San Francisco 49ers were all interested in adding Beckham to their roster.
News of Beckham Jr.’s potential release was first reported a week ago tonight when Pro Football Talk reported that the Cleveland Browns planned on releasing Beckham Jr. the following day. The Browns released the disgruntled receivers after failing to trade him before the November 2nd deadline.
Beckham Jr.’s feelings about his situation in Cleveland became very public following the Browns’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers where Beckham finished the game with one catch on one target for six yards. In six games this season Beckham has 17 catches off of 34 targets for 232 receiving yards and zero touchdowns.
Prior to the 2019 NFL Draft, Cleveland acquired Beckham from the New York Giants for former first-round pick Jabril Peppers, a 2019 first-round pick (used to select Dexter Lawerence), and a 2019 third-round pick (used to select Oshane Ximines). In his first season in Cleveland, Beckham had an off-year by his standards posting 74 receptions off of 133 targets for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns. Last season in seven games Beckham had only 23 receptions off of 43 targets for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
Before his time in Cleveland Beckham had established himself as one of the league’s elite wide receivers in the league in New York. He had accolades like Offensive Rookie of the Year (2014-15) and posting back-to-back Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro seasons.
The Los Angeles Rams once again made an aggressive move adding Beckham to an already loaded roster. It was only last week that the Rams acquired former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller from the Denver Broncos. They already have an extremely loaded roster that features Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Andrew Whitworth, Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, and now Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham may not see the most targets on the team like he feels like he deserves because he will be splitting targets with arguably the best wide receiver in the league this season Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, 2020 second-round pick Van Jefferson, and Tyler Higbee. The thinking is that Beckham is willing to make that sacrifice to play with a quarterback more capable of utilizing his skillset in Matthew Staford and the opportunity to win a Super Bowl.
It is unlikely that Beckham Jr. plays this week against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. However, Beckham Jr. will have a role for this offense going forward. This addition and season overall for the Los Angeles Rams are comparable to when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Antonio Brown in the middle of last season and eventually won the Super Bowl.
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