Which team will Cleveland Browns WR receiver Odell Beckham play for next?
In a perfect world, Odell Beckham Jr. plays out the rest of his career with the Cleveland Browns going to six straight pro bowls while earning a few Super Bowl rings along the way.
In reality, the Browns will probably trade him–at some point. No team pays its top two receivers a combined $30 million, and with analytics back in the drivers seat in Berea, you can bet the Browns will view the position as away to save cap space.
Additionally, Kevin Stefanski’s new scheme calls for a run oriented offense, with with tight ends getting heavy usage. Not, it’d be silly to say the Browns don’t need receives, but they might view one of their eight-figure receivers as expendable.
So, which team is likely to be ObJ’s next destination? When pressed to pick which team Beckham will play for next under the “Lasso of truth” during a segment on TheLandonDemand (subscription), analyst Tony Grossi gave his answer.
"“…A team that’s expressed interest in him before: The San Francisco 49ers. By the end of this year, that will be fact, because I think it’s going to be frustrating for the receivers the way this offense is going to evolve.”"
Something else that hints to OBJ’s days in Cleveland being over…follow the money. He’s under contract for three more seasons, but it gets easy to trade him because the guarantees have started to run dry.
Looking at next season, he’s due $12.79 million of his $14.75 million on the third league day of the year. He’s due roster bonuses of a $1 million in each of the remaining years of his deal, but carries no dead cap figure, starting in 2021.
Like I said, ideally, Beckham finds Father Time and becomes the receiver he was four years ago with the Giants.
As always, you might be able to relegate this column to the wastelands of the Internet, because my read on Jimmy Haslam, is that the owner really likes OBJ. When the Browns cleaned house at the end of 2019, Haslam spoke of the team’s young core of players and he personally mentioned Beckham’s name.
Long story short. He signs the checks, and I think he liked the spotlight Beckham brought to town. Paul DePodesta talked Haslam into the product that became 0-16 and 1-31, though, so all bets are off.