The Cleveland Browns will never recoup value for Odell Beckham Jr.

With rumors of the Cleveland Browns trading Odell Beckham Jr. to the Vikings heating up, fans should be aware the team can never recoup value for him.

The Cleveland Browns gave up too much to acquire Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants in 2019. The team never should have given up a first and third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and damn well sure never should have given up Jabrill Peppers. Not with the injury history and attitude issues that have plagued Beckham over the last three-plus years. So with rumors picking up that the Browns are nearing a deal to move Beckham to the Minnesota Vikings for a second and fifth-round pick, fans should realize that there is no way to ever get back what the team lost. Taking what you can get is all that one can do.

Beckham is too injury prone to ever sell someone on a first-round draft pick ever again. It’s impossible. If the Raiders aren’t going to give one up, no one will and they’re terribly managed.

The move, much to some fans chagrin, makes sense for both teams. The Vikings traded Stefon Diggs and a seventh-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a first, a fourth and a fifth-round pick, so they’re in need of a second option behind their number one wideout Adam Thielen. The Browns probably want the headcase that Beckham has become off the team before he goes full Antonio Brown on the team.

There is doubt that this deal will ever happen, as Mary Kay Cabot is reporting that a source close to the Vikings is saying the rumor is false. To be fair, there is rarely ever confirmation of a pending deal in pro-sports before it happens. One only needs to look at Browns GM Andrew Berry and how he side-stepped questions about Jadeveon Clowney coming to Cleveland to know that a source denying a report is just standard fare.

Teams use the media to produce subterfuge. The media is often manipulated by teams as a way to keep others out of the loop so that a deal can be done in peace. If the Vikings can quell any talk of any potential rumor, then they can keep the price lower. If a third team were to think that this deal was really happening, they could cut the Vikings out at the last second with a better deal.

So yes, the Vikings could be lying to Cabot.

When it comes to Beckham, there is just too much smoke to him being traded since the trade deadline of 2019 to be ignored. The Browns are at a point where it’s fair to say they want to ship the embattled wide receiver. It’s becoming clear that it’s not a matter of “if”, just “when”. Whenever it does happen, assuming that it does, don’t expect to get back anything near what the Browns gave up to get him.