Giants, Not Backing Down From Odell Beckham Jr. Chase, Set Visit Date
The Odell Beckham Jr. free agent tour is starting to take shape with a visit to the New York Giants leading off the visits on Thursday.
Beckham Jr., who played his first five NFL seasons with the Giants, will meet with the team next Thursday and Friday, according to a source familiar with the receiver's plans.
Odell Beckham Jr. already knows what he'd look like in a New York Giants uniform. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
Giants Ownership Open To Return
Beckham Jr. will then meet with the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 5, as previously reported, and is also expected to visit the Buffalo Bills, where friend and former Los Angeles Rams teammate Von Miller has been recruiting him to sign.
The Buffalo visit date has not yet been solidified.
It is also possible teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens could also join the mix to host Beckham Jr. for a visit.
The Giants and Cowboys have been the most open and vocal teams about possibly adding Beckham Jr., with ownership from both teams involved in the chase.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spoken numerous times about what Beckham Jr. would look like in the team's offense and "with the star on his helmet."
“We talk and think a lot of what we think he’s capable of being for this team,” Jones has said.
There have been conversations between Giants general manager Joe Schoen and ownership as well in New York. Schoen was not present for Beckham Jr.'s first go-round in New York. But ownership has given the go-ahead to explore the possibility of a reunion.
The Giants traded Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns in March of 2019.
Odell Beckham Jr. suffered an ACL injury in the Super Bowl while playing for the Los Angeles Rams. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images).
Beckham Jr. Cleared For Football Activities
That reunion is possible because Beckham Jr. has been cleared for football activities following a long and arduous rehabilitation from offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL. Beckham Jr. suffered the injury in the Super Bowl and initially hoped to return to that team this season.
But the Rams, while interested in re-signing Beckham Jr., were modest in their offer to the receiver because of the unknown factors in his rehabilitation, timetable for returning to play and their salary cap situation.
Beckham Jr. wants to be on a team by the start of December, per a source familiar with his plans. But it may take a couple of weeks for him to get in "football shape" beyond his knee rehab to be able contribute at a high level in games. That could come sometime around the middle of December.
The goal for the Beckham Jr. camp is to be on a team that has a chance to get into the postseason and advance through the playoffs with one of the NFL's most dangerous receiver threats adding to an already accomplished offense.
From the perspective of teams expected to be vying for Beckham's services, the starting point in negotiations is likely to be a prorated, one-year deal that carries through the playoffs. That would allow Beckham Jr. to become a free agent again next spring -- when the process would begin all over again but a much higher price point.