As one team surfaces in trade speculation already, here’s how the Green Bay Packers can get Odell Beckham Jr.
Depending on the direction of the wind that day, the Cleveland Browns may or may not be open to trading wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. On Thursday, ESPN’s Jeff Darlington went all the way in on reckless speculation to suggest the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could trade for Beckham this offseason.
Tom Brady wanted the Patriots to trade for Beckham when the latter was playing for the Giants, so the idea of the Buccaneers making the move is not without some merit. But it’s hard to see it as realistic, and a team that is looking to get over the hump and back to the Super Bowl makes more sense.
The Green Bay Packers have gone 13-3 and reached the NFC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons. While Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback, they are in a win-now window and should be operating that way. Beckham has made sense as a trade target for them for awhile, and now into the offseason it’s sure to come into light again.
How the Packers can get Odell Beckham Jr.
As of right now, according to Over The Cap, the Packers are over the salary cap by more than $28 million. So that makes a trade for Beckham tough (if not impossible) to pull off right off the bat, but if there’s a will expect the Packers to find a way.
Beckham has three years left on his contract, and he’s coming off a torn ACL. But the structure of the deal was favorable for the Browns when they acquired him, and it remains the case now. Beckham’s cap numbers are reasonable ($15.75 million, $15 million and $15 million), even considering age and injury risks.
His ACL recovery complicates matters a bit, since the remaining $12.79 million of his 2021 base salary becomes fully guaranteed right after the league year starts. But it’s a year-to-year commitment to Beckham after 2021, with $1 million roster bonuses due the first day of training camp in 2022 and ’23.
Here’s how a deal to bring Beckham to Green Bay could look.
Packers Get
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Browns Get
2021 First-Round Pick (No. 29)
2022 Third-Round Pick
Depending on how they are able to clear cap space via cuts, restructures and contract extensions, the player piece(s) sent to the Browns could vary for the Packers (Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Ricky Wagner, Josh Jackson, Dean Lowry). It’s not very likely, but maybe a bigger trade that also brings tight end David Njoku to the Packers could be worked out.
After deciding not to draft a wide receiver last year, the Packers could go the lower cost route and take someone from another deep class at the position this year. Beckham is at a low point in his value right now though, and the Browns are surely open to moving him.
If only to keep the Buccaneers or another NFC Super Bowl contender from getting him, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has to have a trade for Beckham on his radar.