DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Odell Beckham Jr. returned to his home in Arizona without a deal from one of the three teams he visited over the past several days: The Cowboys, Bills and Giants.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Wednesday that Beckham will "weigh his options, talk to his family and plot his next move."
But where do the Cowboys stand in the Beckham chase? If you were to read the reports that came out Tuesday from various Cowboys' beat writers, you'd think the Cowboys were no longer in the driver's seat to sign the wide receiver.
According to those reports, the Cowboys reportedly came away from the health and physical portion of their meetings with Beckham on Tuesday with concerns about his ability to contribute this season.
However, according to Beckham's camp, there is still, in fact, a belief that he will be able to contribute by playoff time.
"Separately, sources close to Beckham Jr. tell me he feels able to contribute to the playoffs this season," NFL insider Josina Anderson tweeted. "Especially after getting in with a team & acclimating consistently over several weeks."
Anderson then insinuated that Beckham appears to be targeting a return for the first round of the playoffs, as that weekend (Jan. 14-16) would mark 11 months since he suffered his second torn ACL in the Super Bowl on Feb. 13. Beckham previously returned 11 months after his first ACL injury.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and EVP Stephen Jones have said all along that they are prioritizing this season in any negotiation with Beckham. So if there's a chance the star wideout won't be able to play this season, it would make sense why the Cowboys' interest in Beckham had soured.
But, according to Rapoport, that is not the case.
"I don't get the sense the Cowboys have cooled (on Beckham). I really don't. I think everyone going in thought this would be a situation where he would sign in early December, take a couple of weeks to ramp up, and then play at the end of the season and the playoffs. There are two games in January, so that would be Weeks 17 and 18, and that's kind of right on schedule," Rapoport said on 'Shan and RJ' on 105.3 The Fan. "I know there were some reports yesterday, (but) I haven't gotten the sense the Cowboys have cooled at all. And I think the other teams are probably on the same page. I think everyone believes that it's going to be late in the regular season and into the playoffs when you're going to get a contribution from Odell Beckham. And if you're a playoff team, that's kind of what you want anyways."
Rapoport went on to say that he "wouldn't be surprised" if Beckham made a decision on his next team as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.
Stay tuned.
Related
