Rams need for Odell Beckham Jr. return just got bigger with devastating injury news

The Los Angeles Rams need to re-sign Odell Beckham Jr. now more than ever with the news that Cooper Kupp will be out with an ankle injury. 

In Nov. 11, 2021, the Los Angeles Rams signed Odell Beckham Jr. Two days later on Nov. 13, Robert Woods suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Beckham Jr. stepped into Woods’ role, and the rest is Super Bowl history. Unfortunately, Beckham Jr. went down with his own ACL injury during Super Bowl LVI, which then redistributed the heavy passing workload back onto Cooper Kupp the following season.

That leads to Nov. 15, 2022, when news broke that now Cooper Kupp is facing his own concerning injury due to an ankle sprain in Week 10. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Kupp suffered a high-ankle sprain and will go into surgery tomorrow. This means he’ll be on IR for at least four weeks, which throws an already-fragile offense into complete chaos.

Just like last season, when Kupp led the NFL in receiving yards, he’s received a lion’s share of Matthew Stafford’s targets in 2022. Eerily enough at almost one year to the date, the Rams find themselves in a familiar predicament, and they need Odell Beckham Jr. now more than ever.

Beckham Jr. has been expected to heal by mid-November, making this the perfect time to sign him. And while Beckham Jr. did say he was willing to take a pay cut back in February, Los Angeles is currently ranked last in the NFC West with a 3-6 record.

They’re unlikely to return to the Super Bowl this year as Rams fans previously hoped, but if they have any hope of salvaging this season, signing OBJ has to be higher on their list of priorities than ever.

Can the Rams entice Odell Beckham Jr. to re-sign after Cooper Kupp injury?

Even though the Rams need Beckham Jr. now, arguably more than they ever did last season, it seems like they are less likely to land him the second time around.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that OBJ hopes to sign with a new team by the end of November. Much like last year, Beckham Jr. will have an opportunity to survey the NFL landscape and sign with a team that has a strong chance of making Super Bowl LVII. Schefter also addressed the likelihood that either of last year’s frontrunners in the OBJ sweepstakes, the Rams and the Green Bay Packers, are unlikely contenders in 2022.

"“The Rams and Green Bay Packers might also have been featured prominently in Beckham’s list, but as both teams fall further out of playoff contention, the less likely it is that Beckham will opt to sign with one of those franchises.”"

Instead, Schefter notes that Beckham Jr.’s prospective list includes teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

Considering how Beckham Jr. expressed his discontent with what the Rams had to offer this October, describing the offer as “the lowest of the lows“, the Rams may not have the cap space or wins to win back OBJ.

The Rams can either throw everything they’ve got into trying to win back Beckham Jr., or they can cut their losses and try to incorporate Allen Robinson into the offense more.

Cooper Kupp has been the glue holding the Rams offense together this season, and it looks like without him, the team could fall apart. Landing Beckham Jr. can only do so much to save their season, and while the Rams have thrived on major free agent signings and big trades, the talented era that brought them a Super Bowl may have come to an end.