OBJ. OMG.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. remains an unsigned free agent after tearing his ACL in the Rams’ Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 29-year-old had blossomed with the Rams, joining the team mid-season after a….uh….weird stint with the Cleveland Browns. When your Dad is posting things on Instagram about your quarterback….well, that’s just weird.
Beckham Jr. caught a TD pass in the Super Bowl before getting hurt and showed the speed and hands that made him a headline-maker with the New York Giants.
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Now cue the posturing by both sides. Do the Rams want OBJ back?
Head coach Sean McVay said on The Rich Eisen Show:
“Oh, of course. I really want Odell back on our team. He’s a guy that, in a short amount of time, we were able to develop a really special relationship. I thought he brought a great spark to our team. I thought he played really well. He’s a great teammate. Without a doubt, want to get Odell back here. That’s the goal and continuing to work toward a solution of him re-signing with the Rams.”
But is he worth it? And do the Rams really want him back?
Let’s look at both sides.
OBJ all the way
The Rams are a pass-oriented team. You can’t have enough quality wideouts and OBJ gives the team a vertical threat that opens the shorter passing lanes for Cooper Kupp, tight end Tyler Higbee and the running backs.
Beckham Jr. has said in the past he wanted to play on the West Coast. He has a made-for-Hollywood smile, a great nickname (OBJ is no ODB, but it’s good) and he’s capable, when healthy, of breaking any game open.
McVay is right. OBJ appeared to mesh with the Rams, contributing right away and filling the void after Robert Woods tore his ACL in practice.
“He is truly a great teammate, made so many impactful plays,” McVay said. “It was a shame to see him go down in that game but man, he sure still made an impact with those two catches that he did have.”
But do the Rams need him now? The Rams signed Allen Robinson II to a big three-year $45-million dollar deal. He is a good complement to Kupp. Robinson II made the Bears’ quarterbacks look as good sometimes. He’s a miracle worker.
Kupp is the No. 1 target; clearly, Robinson II could be number two. Does OBJ want to be a third wide receiver?
OBJ no way
OBJ has been a free agent for a while. What do the other NFL teams know? He can say he wants to play on the West Coast, but the Los Angeles Chargers could use him, so could the Las Vegas Raiders and San Francisco is certainly on the West Coast.
It’s always telling when there’s no line of suitors to sign you.
Beckham Jr. has now torn his ACL twice in the last three years. He also missed almost all of 2017 with the Giants with a broken ankle. He’s also always been, well, a bit of a prima donna. Remember that weird kicking net thing with the Giants?
That can be explained away as he’s someone who plays hard and really wants to win, but a lot of players feel that way without attacking innocent inanimate objects. OBJ probably won’t be ready to play by September as he recovers from his ACL tear.
Is OBJ the next Terrell Owens? A guy who produces but after a while isn’t worth the aggravation.
What should the Rams do?
Time is on the Rams’ side here. No other team has publicly shown interest in OBJ. They have the luxury of waiting to see how he looks after the surgery.
When McVay says “work towards a solution” that’s code for “he must play at our price.” The Rams have the cards. They have Robinson II in the fold. He’s the same age as OBJ and has a lot of the same skills.
OBJ’s bestie and former teammate Jarvis Landry just signed a one-year $3 million dollar deal with the Saints. It’s a classic ‘prove-it’ deal for Landry, meaning show us you can still play, and then we’ll talk.
OBJ will have to eventually accept what the Rams offer. The Rams just must make sure the offer isn’t so insulting that OBJ becomes an off-field issue.
