The Dallas Cowboys have been a bit busy early on this week. They are continuing to navigate their regular season but they have also been courting and recruiting a certain free agent wide receiver. Odell Beckham Jr. attended Monday night’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns with Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs, and he said then that signing with Dallas was a possibility, but beyond that level of entertainment, Beckham has also been visiting with the Cowboys and team officials.
Tuesday morning Jerry Jones took to the radio airwaves of 105.3 The Fan where he normally provides an update on the state of the team, so he was obviously asked about Beckham. Jerry didn’t exactly spill any beans but he did express a bit of hesitancy (even that feels like an aggressive word) with regards to Beckham’s health.
Make no mistake if he can play this year I think Jerry goes all in but if there is some concern it doesn’t make sense. The talk alone has motivated his receivers to step up in recent weeks. The move is for a push THIS year. https://t.co/9E451xenN9
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) December 6, 2022
It was telling, IMO, that Jerry put no timeline on OBJ signing, which seems odd. Wouldn’t team want him in building right away to start process of getting him game ready. And when Jones paused when @BobbyBeltTX asked him if OBJ thought he was ready to play was also telling.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) December 6, 2022
Throughout this entire process it has been understood by just about everyone that health would be of the utmost importance with Beckham. While he is inordinately talented, he is coming off of a torn ACL that he suffered in the Super Bowl so his status at the moment is a bit in question.
On Tuesday afternoon The Dallas Morning News reported that if the Cowboys do wind up with Beckham on their team, that he is unlikely to play in the regular season which would mean that his debut would not come until the playoffs.
If both sides determine they want to go into the future together, it will be with the understanding that the veteran receiver is unlikely to play before the regular season is done.
Beckham hasn’t played since tearing his ACL during the Super Bowl earlier this year. Several people with knowledge of his status told The Dallas Morning News it appears his rehabilitation will extend into the postseason.
This makes it pretty clear that Beckham would not play at all in the regular season for the Cowboys (or anyone else) which is not exactly the most devastating of news. The entire purpose of signing him has always been with eyes fixed on the playoffs and the important moments within them so this is not a deal-breaker.
But if you want to read a bit into that wording, the phrasing of “into the playoffs” should be paid attention to. Would Beckham be ready in the Wild Card Round? Or not until the Divisional? What about the Conference Championship Game, if the Cowboys made it that far? Or dare I ask about the Super Bowl?
What’s more is that he would literally be playing his first games with the team in the moments that mattered the most this season. While again it should be noted that Beckham has a track record of producing at a high level, that is a huge gamble to take.
The Cowboys are in a very good position here in that they don’t need Odell on their team. Obviously he can provide a lot to them but it has to make sense for them (although we are always rooting for all players to have success). It is clear that they are taking their time to make sure that they do what they want to do and how they want to do it.
