The buzz has remained steady regarding Odell Beckham being traded from the Giants as former NFL scout John Middlekauff tweeted last week, “I think he’s a Niner in mid-March. Won’t be cheap though. Talked about it on the pod.”
Here is what CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora added as well.
“League sources indicated to me that the Giants are not averse to a Beckham trade, even despite the massive hit they would incur, and that coach Pat Shurmur has been at wits end on how to manage him,” La Canfora wrote. “A trade is certainly not out of the question. In fact, sources have pointed to the 49ers and Raiders as the most likely strong suitors should this situation escalate. Stay tuned. Long offseason ahead.”
Here is a look at a few teams expected to be in the mix if indeed the Giants put Beckham on the market.
The Bears want to remain aggressive in trying to put weapons around Mitchell Trubisky, as it is clear that Chicago wants to take advantage of the fact that their quarterback is still on his rookie contract. The Eagles won it all 13 months ago using this formula, and the Patriots have been able to circumvent the salary cap for years thanks to Tom Brady taking hometown discounts. If you have a quality quarterback on your roster for short dollars, you are golden in today’s NFL.
That’s part of the reason why the 49ers should not be thought of as a slam dunk given that Jimmy Garoppolo signed a whopper of a deal last year.
The Browns are another team that could target Beckham as they “had legitimate discussions” with the Giants about obtaining Beckham last year, according to CBS Sports’ Boomer Esiason.
And then there is the Patriots, who also looked into landing Beckham last year according to reports.
It should be noted here that the frugal Patriots only looked into a Beckham trade before he signed his mammoth deal with the Giants last August. That said, the Patriots could absorb Beckham’s current contract relatively easily. They just wouldn’t be able to re-sign key free agent Trey Flowers and it seems like maintaining a top of the line defense is priority No. 1 right now in New England.
Meanwhile, out in Green Bay the pressure is on Brian Gutekunst and new head coach Matt LaFleur to maximize the championship window Aaron Rodgers provides. Beckham has never had a quarterback on the level of Rodgers throwing him the ball and it would be almost guaranteed that No. 13 would lead the league in receiving if he wound up in Wisconsin.
As CBS Sports’ Will Brinson wrote in February, the Patriots and the Packers make great sense as trade partners with the Giants as they are both flush with early draft picks this spring.
