Free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is considering the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints as potential landing spots, league sources told ESPN’s Dianna Russini on Wednesday.
Beckham, who cleared waivers Tuesday after being released by the Cleveland Browns on Monday, was still sorting through several offers Wednesday night, with as many as eight teams making their plays for him this week, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots also are among the teams pursuing him, sources said.
Beckham wants to spend the rest of this season with a playoff contender and in a winning environment, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter earlier in the week.
The Patriots and Packers are still on the Browns’ remaining schedule, with Cleveland visiting Gillette Stadium on Sunday and Lambeau Field on Christmas Day.
Green Bay receiver Davante Adams, who is friends with Beckham, told reporters Wednesday that he has been in communication with the veteran wideout and is cautiously optimistic.
“Hopes are up there pretty high. Been talking to him a little bit, so we’ll see what happens,” Adams said. “But like I’ve said previously, I don’t expect anything to happen. But if it does, that would be great.”
Adams also noted he’s not concerned about sharing the wide receiver limelight in Green Bay.
“I’m pretty secure in what I bring to this offense and to this team,” he said. “And I know what his mindset is: Based off what he just came from, he’d be happy to deal with whatever at this point.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said general manager Brett Veach is “always going to keep his eyes and ears open,” and quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he hadn’t been in contact with Beckham.
“Obviously, he’s a really good football player who’s done a lot of great things in this league,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “… I let [Veach] handle that and I focus on this opponent this week and go out there and try to play with whoever is on the field.”
Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians on Wednesday said he wasn’t interested in bringing Beckham to the Bucs.
“No. Too many letters,” Arians said with a laugh. “I’ve already got AB [Antonio Brown]; I don’t need OBJ.”
The Browns excused Beckham from practice last week while the sides negotiated his exit. He asked to be traded and never developed an on-field connection with Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, and Beckham essentially forced his release last week when his father shared an 11-minute video on social media — hours before the trade deadline — of plays in which Mayfield didn’t pass him the ball.
Cleveland must pay Beckham $4.25 million but will save $3 million from his renegotiated contract.
Beckham, 29, had 17 catches for 232 yards and zero touchdowns in six games this season. He had only two 100-yard games in 29 games after joining Cleveland in the 2019 blockbuster trade with the New York Giants.
The three-time Pro Bowler had 1,035 receiving yards in his first season with Cleveland but suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2020 and was out when the Browns ended a long playoff drought and won their first playoff game in 26 years.
ESPN staff writers Rob Demovsky and Adam Teicher and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com