Your favorite story will not go away. Jerry Jones won’t allow it.
We spent all of last week talking about Odell Beckham Jr. visiting the Dallas Cowboys and he ultimately left the team without a deal. Matters over the last week or so (more on that in a bit) have made it seem like there will be no OBJ union in Dallas, but as mentioned, Jerry Jones is not exactly in agreement with that.
Speaking Wednesday afternoon Jerry continued to hint at the idea that his team could be acquiring OBJ and doing so “sooner rather than later.”
Jerry Jones acknowledged if Odell Beckham Jr. signs it has to be sooner rather than later. How soon? “I don’t want to talk about that but stand by,” Jones said as the NFL owners’ meetings ended Tuesday at the Four Seasons Dallas. “This thing could break.”
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) December 14, 2022
Part of what has particularly made the Beckham idea feel impossible has been the recent arrival of wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. The signing of Hilton somewhat signaled a bowing out of sorts for the Cowboys as far as OBJ is concerned. We even asked the question here at BTB whether or not the majority feels that this is in fact the case.
Cowboys brass has continued to keep hope (if you want to call it that) alive beyond Jerry’s recent comments as far as it related to Beckham, but it isn’t difficult to read between the lines here. Dallas notably wanted help in the here and how, Beckham seemingly cannot offer that, Hilton can, and that is simply where we are as far as the rest of this particular season is concerned.
Beckham had some comments that emerged last Thursday night about how he did not see a reason for him to play in the regular season which runs counter to what Dallas apparently partly wanted out of him. It is certainly possible that Dallas also has an interest in Beckham beyond the 2022 season. but those matters are not exactly a high priority here in the more critical parts of the 2022 season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler noted on Wednesday that several NFL teams reportedly believe Beckham will sit out the remainder of this season and serve as the “prize” of the 2023 free agent class at wide receiver.
Several NFL teams believe Odell Beckham Jr. is leaning toward sitting out the entire 2022 regular season and postseason and signing with his new team at the start of free agency in March, sources told ESPN. Executives whose teams have done their homework on Beckham expect him to wait because, as one put it, “he’ll be the prize”” of the free agent receiver class. Beckham isn’t expected to be ready to play football until the playoffs, and joining a new team and offense for a playoff run comes with injury risk. Leaguewide attrition at the position could change the outlook and prompt a team to sign Beckham to a strong offer this year. The Chiefs could be among teams in this category, though they could be getting Mecole Hardman back from IR this week and would be at full strength at receiver. The Cowboys and Bills, who recently hosted Beckham on visits, signed veteran receivers T.Y. Hilton and Cole Beasley, respectively, this week, but those moves wouldn’t preclude them from signing another receiver. It’s just that the tea leaves are telling teams that Beckham might not be a realistic option this year
As Fowler notes, the Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, two of the three teams Beckham visited with the third being the New York Giants, both signed wide receivers in T.Y. Hilton and Cole Beasley which suggests they are moving on in the moment. The Kansas City Chiefs were rumored to be in the mix for Beckham as well and while Mecole Hardman is not back for them quite yet, he did have his 21-day practice window opened on Wednesday so his return should come soon enough.
Beyond the Cowboys signing T.Y. Hilton, it was starting to feel like the end of this OBJ news cycle with everybody that was more seriously involved doing something or another to partly move on. But with Jerry Jones in the picture, the story continues for now.
