3 Cowboys backup plans if Odell Beckham Jr. can’t play this season

Dec 5, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; (from left) Talent manager Corey Gamble and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons and Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs and wide receiver free agent Odell Beckham Jr. (black jacket) watch the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

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Odell Beckham Jr. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cowboys pursuit of Odell Beckham Jr. has hit a snag as the receiver might not play in 2022. So what is the Plan B for Dallas?

For a month or more now, the plan has long felt like the Dallas Cowboys bringing in late-season reinforcements in the form of free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Jerry Jones has been incessant in his pursuit of the pass-catcher with OBJ even visiting the team on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

During that meeting — the physical, to be precise — some red flags were raised. Namely, there was reportedly a concern that Beckham might not be healthy enough to play in the 2022 regular season and could only feasibly be back on the field by January. So much for the reinforcements that the Cowboys were hoping to get if that was indeed the case.

Granted, this is just a report and we have no way of knowing truly what’s happening between the Dallas front office and OBJ behind closed doors. But it does seem to indicate that the master plan of getting Beckham for the home stretch and into the playoff might be in real jeopardy.

So where do the Cowboys go from here now? Luckily, they have some backup plans that could make some sense to help them finish the year strong and make a run into the postseason.

Cowboys: 3 Odell Beckham Jr. backup plans if WR can’t play this season

3. Jake Ferguson could play a bigger role in the Cowboys offense

Particularly once Dak Prescott got back into the fold after missing five games due to a hand injury suffered in Week 1, we knew that tight end Dalton Schultz was going to play a key role in the offense. Schultz has been a security blanket for Prescott in recent years. Thus far, he’s largely continued in that role as the team’s third-leading receiver on the year with 35 grabs for 343 yards and three scores.

However, if Dallas isn’t going to add a receiver with the upside of Beckham to the fold due to his health, then perhaps another tight end could step up and play a bigger role in the offense — someone like rookie Jake Ferguson.

Ferguson has largely split time with another rookie, Peyton Hendershot, as the TE2 in the Cowboys offense. But the Wisconsin product has shown a bit more juice, catching 16 of 19 targets for 139 yards and two touchdowns on the year. This isn’t to say he’s going to be on Schultz’s level or anything, but he’s a weapon that could be utilized a bit more to further open up the offense for CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and so on.

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