NEWSLETTER
It feels as if Odell Beckham Jr. trade rumors have been circulating for a while. Heck, even after his trade from the Giants to the Browns, it never felt like those whispers went away. And because of that, the possibility of another Beckham trade never left our conscious.
But just when I thought the trade deadline passing would push Beckham rumors to the back burner, his situation finds a way to become publicly more contentious:
#Browns and Odell Beckham Jr. appear to have arrived at a fracture point. Story: https://t.co/iIidf0buot
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) November 3, 2021
One day after Odell Beckham Sr. posted a video on social media showing Baker Mayfield not passing the ball to his son in what is essentially a diss on Cleveland’s QB, Yahoo!’s Charles Robinson reports there is a real fracture with Beckham Jr. and the team. So much so, Beckham reportedly won’t practice with the team on Wednesday ahead of its upcoming game against the Bengals. Further, Robinson suggests Cleveland could follow a path similar to the one Houston is currently on with Deshaun Watson by de-activating Beckham on game day moving forward.
This four part thread by Robinson gives the skinny on what’s going down in Cleveland right now. Obviously, this is a situation the Browns must handle with care in order to ensure it doesn’t blow up even further. But where some see crisis, other see opportunity. And from where I’m sitting, part of me believes this is a situation the Bears should be monitoring for obvious reasons. Whether it happens sooner (because the Browns place him on waivers) or later (because Cleveland holds to trade him in the offseason), it’s something to keep tabs on as clarity comes to the situation.
Let’s put aside the drama for a moment. Beckham, who turns 29 on Friday, would be the Bears’ most accomplished receiver. You can’t just overlook three Pro Bowl seasons, five 1,000-yard receiving campaigns, and and three years with at least 10 receiving scores. That résumé would put him in the discussion among all-time great Bears receivers. Sure, that says a lot about Chicago’s history when it comes to poor quarterback play, an inability to find play-making pass-catchers, and overall offensive ineptitude. But that Beckham has 1,000-yard receiving seasons in each of his five fully healthy seasons says a lot about him, too.
To be clear, I’m not pushing all my chips to the center of the table to swing a Beckham trade. Instead, I’m opening myself to the idea of the Bears taking advantage of a contentious situation to improve their team. And for what it’s worth, we’ve made note of possible Bears interest in the past.
Everything Chicago’s front office should be doing right now should be done with maximizing Justin Fields’ talent, upside, and potential. And that includes being willing to explore players who possess OBJ’s skills and traits, even if there is an inherent risk of a sideshow popping up from time-to-time. Maybe this turns into a situation where the Browns have to cough up a pick to get Beckham off their books. Would you consider taking on Beckham and whatever is left on his deal in order to increase the Bears’ draft capital? I’d certainly give it consideration.
For whatever it’s worth, LeBron James seems to think Beckham still has it, tweeting: “OBJ will show again why he’s special. WR1 #FreeOBJ” on Tuesday morning. And yes, that’s the same LeBron James who had this fun interaction with Justin Fields this summer:
Appreciate you 🙏🏽
— Justin Fields (@justnfields) August 14, 2021
James has been known to facilitate moves that helped his basketball teams win titles. But if he wants to open the door for a Fields-Beckham partnership in Chicago, and it means success for the Bears moving forward, then by all means let The King go to work.
