4 teams that should trade for Odell Beckham Jr. during the offseason

Odell Beckham Jr. is of course out for the season, but these four teams should make a trade for him during the offseason.

Say what you will about Baker Mayfield being a more functional quarterback without him, but the Cleveland Browns are not a better team without Odell Beckham Jr. But after suffering a torn ACL in Week 7, Beckham is out for the rest of the 2020 season.

There’s no getting around the fact Beckham’s 23-game tenure with the Browns has been disappointing. He and Mayfield struggled to get on the same page last year (74 catches on 133 targets), as Beckham was playing at less than full strength and needed core muscle surgery during the offseason.

This year, the Browns formula to win has mostly been centered on the run game. But in the six games he finished, Beckham had 42 targets with at least eight targets three times. So it wasn’t really a question of involvement, with production tied to how well Mayfield played and a correlating level of opponent.

Beckham’s list of injuries adds something new every year (broken leg, quad, abdomen, torn ACL). But he is still only coming up on his 28th birthday (Nov. 5), and a torn ACL is not a career death knell.

Now though, there’s this report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Beckham has never seemed like a great fit for the smaller market Browns, as much as that matters in today’s world with geography no boundary to being a star.

The Browns have consistently batted back trade speculation related to Beckham, including early this season. But sometimes where there’s smoke there’s fire, and trade talk and Beckham is never that far away.

These four teams should keep an eye on Beckham’s progress from his torn ACL, and make a trade offer for him during the offseason.

4 teams who should make offseason trade for Odell Beckham Jr.

4. Washington Football Team

With Ron Rivera in place as head coach, stability and a better culture are natural in Washington. The ultimately didn’t get him, but a free agent offer to Amari Cooper last offseason proves a desire to win now.

Washington has a question mark under center going forward, as they move off Dwayne Haskins and likely look to the 2021 draft for the next quarterback of the future (and possible the present). But they also have ample cap space to make a move for a veteran if they want to ($53.756 million right now, according to Over The Cap).

At least one writer thinks Dak Prescott could be in play for Washington in free agency come March. A pursuit of someone like Prescott definitely can’t be ruled out, along with a pursuit of a good wide receiver to pair with Terry McLaurin. Beckham, with little risk in terms of his contract going forward, could be that notable wide receiver target.