Odell Beckham Jr. and the Rams: Why hasn’t there been a deal?

Odell Beckham Jr. is a free agent.

And given his prodigious production after Cleveland dealt him to the Los Angeles Rams midway through last season, that reality may be a shock to many in the football world.

Beckham Jr. scored touchdowns on a regular basis after touching down in L.A. He found immediate success alongside Matthew Stafford, totaling 305 yards and five TDs on 27 grabs, and averaging 72 yards per game during the postseason. This came after he failed to find the end zone through six games with the Browns. 

Beckham Jr. even notched the first TD of Super Bowl LVI, stretching out to make a big-time grab. But the end to his season was bittersweet, as he was forced to watch the Rams’ march to a championship from the sidelines after going down with a torn ACL in the second quarter.

Thus began an excruciating offseason of rehab, recovery and a hopeful re-signing with the Rams. The latter of those, though, has yet to come to fruition.

For Shannon Sharpe though, that’s not a shock.

“I’m not surprised no one has signed him, because the earliest he’ll be able to contribute is November if he has an Adrian Peterson-type recovery,” Sharpe said Tuesday on “Undisputed”, referencing Peterson’s 2012 MVP campaign. “We know this is a 12-14-month type injury. Usually, it’s the second year [after the injury] that a guy gets fully healthy, and back to what he was.”

Sharpe acknowledged past cases of receivers who’ve succeeded the year after tearing their ACL but emphasized that those injuries took place early in the previous season, not late.

“Wide receivers in the last five, six years that had an ACL tear, then bounced back: Keenan Allen bounced back with 102 catches, 1,400 yards, Jordy Nelson tore his in the preseason, 97 catches and 1,250 14 TDs. Jeremy Maclin in 2014 had 85 catches, 1,300 yards, 10 TDs. They all tore their ACLs in camp, preseason or early in the regular season.

“Odell Beckham Jr. tore his in the Super Bowl, which is February. We’re talking about guys who tear it in July or August, vs. doing it in the last game of the season. Nine months from February is still looking at November, and that’s if everything goes great. Had Odell not torn it, he probably would’ve been resigned for what Allen Robinson got.”

Sharpe asserted though, that the best place for Beckham Jr. was the city in which he won his Super Bowl.

“You know what you’re going to get with him, he’s in the system,” Sharpe said. “The ideal location for him is the Rams, he fits right in nicely.”

Rams optimistic Odell Beckham Jr. will return for 2022

Odell Beckham Jr. remains a free agent as he recovers from his ACL injury in the Super Bowl.

Rams COO Kevin Demoff recently told The Athletic that L.A. is hoping to get a deal done with Beckham Jr.

“Am I optimistic that we can get a deal done over time? Yes,” Demoff said. “We would love to have him back. We would welcome him back with open arms tomorrow. 

“Ultimately, when you’re in a resource allocation, when you know a player who would probably come in and help you, maybe for the last few weeks but really in the playoffs, your focus right now has to go on those who are going to be here for training camp, start the season for you,” Demoff explained. “And then, how much can you leave for a player of Odell’s caliber … Is it a multi-year deal? Is it a one-year deal? All kinds of variables that come into Odell. The one variable that hasn’t changed is how much we love him and want him to be here.” 

Skip Bayless remained skeptical about the team’s desire to re-sign OBJ.

“If he’s that dude, a true superstar, why wouldn’t somebody just leap on him and say ‘hey, we’ve got him locked up for when he does come back?'” he questioned. “Allen Robinson comes in, and now he’s the new Odell. That shocked me. I thought Odell was Odell.”

Based on Demoff’s statements, it appears that if a reunion is going to take place, both sides will be playing the waiting game to make it happen.