Odell Beckham Jr.’s free agency saga may be (mercifully) approaching an actual conclusion.
Odell Beckham, Jr. is apparently on the verge of joining the Dallas Cowboys for the upcoming NFL playoffs, according to the man who signs the checks.
“Odell’s going to join us,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “There’s a good chance he will, with the complete goal of getting ready for a playoff game or two, and then I’ll look to the future. But most of it being about now.”
Jones didn’t reveal financial details, but said he expects that the star wide receiver – coming off ACL surgery after being injured in Super Bowl 56 for the Los Angeles Rams — will be signed to a contract for the rest of this season.
The deal could become official, Jones maintained, after the Cowboys (10-3) try winning a fifth consecutive game on Sunday at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Dallas always felt like the obvious landing spot given the Cowboys check all the boxes that must be checked to invest in Beckham at this point. Chiefly an affinity for drama, a penchant to spend money recklessly and the ability to seriously contend for the Super Bowl come January. Whereas the Giants have no money to waste, are still years away from being championship-caliber and know all too well the never-ending circus Beckham brings with him.
If this deal gets done as Jones suggests, the Cowboys will have played this pretty perfectly. They went along with Beckham’s world tour and then called his bluff, specifically that he was ready to play and would only take a lucrative multi-year deal. The whole “I don’t need to play in the regular season” schtick was just a bad attempt to cover for the fact Beckham won’t be ready to play in the regular season. And now it sounds like he has accepted the fact a 30-year-old receiver who has suffered three significant lower body injuries and missed over 30% of the regular season games played since he entered the league is going to need to take a prove-it deal.
The Cowboys are also in a spot the Giants (and Bills and other potential Beckham suitors) are not in: They don’t really need Beckham until the postseason. Their outlook is pretty much set in stone: They will be the 5-seed and play the NFC South champion in the wild card round. Yes, they have an outside shot to steal the NFC East from the Eagles. But it’s not like they are desperately fighting for a berth or seeding.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
