OBJ hits waivers with Pats in middle of pack
Odell Beckham Jr. got his wish. The Browns announced they waived Beckham on Friday, ending the star wideout’s tumultuous three-year stint with the franchise. Unhappy with his role and production in Cleveland, Beckham asked out, but was only released after the two sides agreed to restructure his contract. The 29-year-old battled injury and inconsistency with the Browns, managing only 40 catches for 541 yards and three touchdowns over the last season and a half.
The three-time Pro Bowler is now subject to waivers. All other NFL teams can enter a claim for him until Monday at 4 p.m., when he will be awarded to his new team, if claimed. The Pats are currently 15th in the league’s waiver order.
To add Beckham, the Pats would need to enter a claim and have Detroit, Miami, Houston, Jacksonville, New York Jets, New York Giants, Washington, Phila- delphia, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Minnesota and Indianapolis all pass on Beckham. If no team enters a claim, he would become a free agent.
According to one report, the Browns received virtually no interest in Beckham prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline, when he had roughly $8 million remaining on his deal.
Pats coach Bill Belichick has added a few mercurial receiving types in the past, including Randy Moss, Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon. During a morning press conference Frriday, Belichick was asked — hypothetically — how much would he pay attention to a high-caliber player becoming available who might help the team.
“We’ve done that before. We brought in (Aqib) Talib in the middle of the season. I mean, we’d have to evaluate any situation,” he said. “I don’t know any specifics to talk about. So at this point, there’s nothing to really talk about. But we’d do anything we could to help our football team.
We brought in James Harrison with one game to go in the season.”
In a Friday morning statement, Browns general manager Andrew Berry explained what led to the release.
“After careful consideration, internal discussions and conversations with Odell and his representation, we’ve determined that it is in the best interest of all parties involved that Odell no longer play for the Cleveland Browns,” Berry said. “We appreciate all his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we’ve just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell.”
After completing his recovery from an ACL last year, Beckham has been limited to 17 catches on 34 targets for 232 yards this season. He entered the league as a first-round pick in 2014 and broke out with the Giants, winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. New York traded Beckham to the Browns after the 2018 season.
If he joins the Patriots, Beckham would be the most talented member of a wide receivers room that includes Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, N’keal Harry and Gunner Olszewski.
Agholor has disappointed as a free-agent addition this season, after landing a 2-year, $22 million deal last spring. Meyers, who has more than double Agholor’s catches, currently leads the team in receptions (45) and receiving yards (426).