Getty Image / Michael Owens
Football fans have spent months speculating about where Odell Beckham Jr might sign this season.
It’s starting to look like the answer is he won’t be playing anywhere.
Over the past couple of weeks, the story has shifted from which team Odell would end up deciding to play for to whether any team was willing to take a risk on his health. Two of the teams he was being linked to have since decided to sign other veteran receivers.
With Odell now not expected to be ready to play until the playoffs, it looks like he could just wait until 2023 to sign with a new team. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, that’s exactly what NFL executives are expecting him to do.
Several NFL teams believe Odell Beckham is leaning toward sitting out the rest of the year and gearing up for free agency in March, per sources.
‘He’ll be the prize’ of the free agency receiver class, one executive said. https://t.co/jGmzrIuHEb
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 14, 2022
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.
It’s hard to see Beckham Jr being “the prize” of the free agent receiver class in 2023. He’s 30 years old now and is coming off of his 2nd ACL tear, which was his 3rd major lower body injury. He also hasn’t been the dominant receiver fans think of him as since the 2019 season. In the 20 games he’s played since then, he has just 67 catches for 856 yards.
With Juju Smith-Schuster and Jacob Meyers both hitting free agency after this season, Odell is at best the 3rd option in the class.
With Beckham’s health being a major question mark, this is probably the best move he can make. Rushing back this season could just lead to another injury and he’ll have the chance to prove he’s healthy to any team interested in signing him.
It looks like fans will be waiting until next season to see Odell Beckham Jr back on the football field.