In the pantheon of “what might have been” in Cleveland Browns history, WR Odell Beckham Jr. could go down as one of the biggest. Given the start of OBJ’s career with the New York Giants, his quick departure from being among the top overall players in the NFL is a disappointment for NFL fans all over.
For Browns fans, Beckham joins WR Andre Rison as top-level receivers who joined the team only to flame out just as quickly.
After a huge trade to acquire Beckham, OBJ’s career ended abruptly in Cleveland with the team waiving him after a financial settlement in 2021. All told, Beckham played parts of three seasons with the Browns accumulating 114 receptions for 1,586 yards and seven touchdowns.
He played the remainder of the 2021 season with the Los Angeles Rams before once again getting injured in the Super Bowl. After sitting out the 2022 season, Beckham signed a big one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens ($15 million) before signing another one-year deal, with the Miami Dolphins this offseason.
Since leaving Cleveland, Beckham’s production has quickly dropped off the page:
- With the Rams (vet min contract): 8 games, 27 catches, 305 yards, 5 TDs
- With the Ravens ($15 million): 14 games, 35 catches, 565 yards, 3 TDs
- With the Dolphins ($3 million): 9 games, 9 catches, 55 yards, 0 TDs
Miami is now waiving OBJ as he wants a chance to make a bigger impact someplace else:
The #Dolphins and three-time Pro Bowl WR Odell Beckham Jr. have mutually agreed to part ways, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 13, 2024
Beckham is hoping for more opportunities elsewhere and the team is granting his release. He’ll be on waivers until Monday. pic.twitter.com/kR1eEDyA1S
Whether he can make that impact will be up to teams to decide given the above numbers and the 32-year-old's long history of injuries. If a team claims him, they will not owe much on his contract:
Odell Beckham is owed ~$200k the rest of the season, so a claim wouldn’t cost a team much at all. At 9 catches for 55 yards, he’s not close to earning incentives (36 catches/566 yards/4 TDs are the lowest thresholds for him to hit). https://t.co/ie6zsGowtJ
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 13, 2024
From prodigious talent with over 1,300 yards receiving in each of his first three seasons to less than 60 yards in nine games and asking to be released. The downfall of OBJ is a sad story of injuries, bad luck, bad choices and bad fits. Could Beckham find a spark as he did when the Browns released him? Perhaps but teams shouldn’t bet on it.
