Cowboys Country

Odell Beckham Jr. to Cowboys on Visit: 7 Key Points as Dallas Coach Mike McCarthy Details Plan

Regardless of the meeting he had with the Giants, the Cowboys hopes are high that free-agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. will choose to play in Dallas.

Timm Hamm

FRISCO - The Odell Beckham Jr. Sweepstakes is in full force. The favorites that are vying for the services of the three-time Pro Bowler, former Offensive Rookie of the Year, and defending Super Bowl champion, are the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, and Dallas Cowboys.

And the Cowboys have a plan. Here, seven bullet points ...

1) Coach Mike McCarthy said he will definitely be involved in the meeting when the receiver visits Monday. 

“It takes two to get the right deal done, McCarthy said. "Hopefully everything comes together. … It’s time for us all to get in front of each other.”

That means that this won't just be a "negotiating session.'' They also need to talk football, scheme fit and expectations.

2) Meetings between Beckham and the other two teams have been scheduled, and the Giants were first on the list on Thursday, with the Bills up next.

New York coach Brian Daboll and Beckham met for dinner on Thursday night and Daboll commented on it briefly in his Friday press conference.

“We had dinner with him last night, had a good visit,” Daboll said, adding that he enjoyed a “great steak.”

3) The medicals on Beckham's knee rehab are critical. We believe the involved teams are likely to "share notes'' - MRI results and the like.

What we don't know - and what teams also do not know as they enter this process: Is there a difference between "passing a physical'' and being able to get on the practice field and run routes? Can he do both? Will he do both?

There is a video of an OBJ workout that teams are aware of. That will not be enough.

The medical situation is really the biggest hurdle for teams in fully committing to Beckham given his current state of recovering from yet another serious knee injury. The Cowboys in particular reportedly aren’t opposed to going the extra mile and looking into a multi-year deal with the free agent wide receiver.

But, said McCarthy, “Our medical staff has a process. We’ll go through the process. You gotta get all the information.''

Translation: The Cowboys would like to get Beckham with the training staff and the coaching staff and have Monday be about more than "taking a physical.''

As Jones said on Friday afternoon Jerry Jones on @1053thefan, "I'm excited. He will be coming in Monday. In the meantime, we're doing a lot of evaluation, a lot of things regarding physical conditioning and things like that, information. All of that is working."

4) With the Cowboys standing at 8-3 this late into the NFL season, they have serious aspirations of making a Super Bowl run. Adding a weapon like OBJ who is a proven competitor at that highest level could prove to be invaluable once the playoff lights are shining on America’s Team come postseason. At the same time, there is a sort of "awkwardness'' to all of this. Dallas, all of a sudden, is about to integrate a trio of "new guys'' - James Washington, Tyron Smith and maybe Beckham - into the lineup.

The talent influx is outstanding. But that doesn't erase the juggling that must be done, in multiple ways - salaries, egos, snap counts, all of it.

5) The Giants meeting sounds as if it was rather informal. That may not be the approach led by owner Jerry Jones, who ideally would like to see Beckham leave Dallas with a new contract in hand and has a penchant for putting on a show ... that we bet in this case will be directed by an itinerary created by personnel boss Will McClay.

6) Amid all of the excitement, somebody in The Star might need to add some logic to the approach. The Cowboys (and maybe other suitors) have with ease brushed by OBJ's recent airplane controversy, McCarthy framing perfectly the approach - and maybe the potential error - by terming Dallas' mindset as "full steam ahead.''

Can Dallas be "full steam'' and still ask Beckham why the heck he didn't fasten his seat belt?

7) There is, as Cowboys ex Troy Aikman has noted, a "Get him in the building'' positivity as it relates to Jones' gifts as a deal-closer. McCarthy even hints at it, maybe, when he said, "Hopefully an agreement can be worked out. I think it’ll be great to get him in the building.”

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Timm Hamm
TIMM HAMM

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