Odell Beckham Jr. is currently recovering from offseason surgery for a torn ACL but that hasn’t stopped speculation about where he’ll end up. This weekend there was the second moment of the offseason where it appeared that the destination might be Buffalo.
Two weeks ago, Odell Beckham Jr. (“OBJ”) woke up to a news report that he had joined the Bills. While the report was posted by a fake version of Bleacher Report, OBJ had some fun with the news on Twitter.
I woke up and askkk how much did we sign for 😂😂😂 … @VonMiller what up teammate!!!! https://t.co/xfsKtklh4K
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) July 16, 2022
This weekend’s hint that the receiver might entertain a move to Buffalo was a bit more serious.
On Friday night, Bills legend and Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed posted a photo of him and Odell Beckham Jr. in Atlantic City. The caption read: “How would OBJ look in Red, White, and Blue? Him and Von runnin it back in Buffalo. Let’s just say we had good convo last night in Atlantic City 👀👀👀😎😎😎😎🎯🎯🎯> 🎯🎯”
While it’s obviously not a sure-fire sign of a deal, Andre Reed is very involved with the current Bills organization and was not doubt actually discussing OBJ’s fit with the team. While Buffalo may not seem to have a need for a receiver on the surface, a marriage between star and team is not such a bad fit.
After OBJ tore his ACL during the Super Bowl, the receiver underwent surgery which would allow him to return to an NFL field in November, if his recovery goes according to plan. That would put Beckham on track to play in eight games this season.
However, being back on the field does not necessarily mean being 100%. In reality, Beckham might not be at full strength until the playoffs. Which is what Buffalo is really interested in.
After letting Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley go in the offseason, the Bills’ wide receiver corps will be much younger with Gabriel Davis and Isaiah McKenzie playing larger roles. While the Bills also have veteran Jamison Crowder on the roster, for now, he operates solely in the slot, so the team would be inexperienced on the outside with only Jake Kumerow, Marquez Stevenson, or rookie Khalil Shakir backing up Diggs and Davis.
Last season, with both Cleveland and Los Angeles, OBJ operated primarily as an outside receiver. He played 205 of his 290 snaps with both teams on the outside.
Despite flaming out in Cleveland, OBJ had some success with the Rams, registering 305 yards and five touchdowns on 27 receptions in eight games (well, really just seven). The veteran quickly worked his way to playing 70% of snaps or more in six of his final seven games with the eventual Super Bowl champions, including three games over 91% of snaps. He had over 20% of team targets in those three games, which is a good indication of the value they believe he offered.
However, considering this is the second ACL surgery that OBJ will be recovering from, it’s likely the veteran would sign a one-year contract to prove he’s healthy before hoping to ink a multi-year deal beginning with the 2023 season.
With the aforementioned inexperience the Bills have in their receiver room, signing OBJ to a deal that will likely amount to a three-month contract for a potential playoff run does make some sense. He could slide in as the third outside receiver with Diggs and Davis to give the Bills an additional playmaker with the proven ability to perform in big games.
Also, considering Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley were both hurt late in the season last year, the Bills know all too well how valuable depth at the position is.
Given how inexpensive a likely one-year deal would be, it might be a gamble that could pay off for a team looking to capture some of the championship magic OBJ helped bring to the Rams last year.
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