Cowboys Country

Odell Beckham Jr. Reveals Signing Timetable: 'I Don't See the Point,' Says Cowboys Target

Odell Beckham Jr. is putting a new spin on why he's not already signed up with the Dallas Cowboys or another suitor.

Mike Fisher

FRISCO - Odell Beckham Jr. has a brand new spin on his desires and his plans ... but his attempt to clear the air has actually muddied the waters.

"I’m not saying I couldn’t step in and play regular season, but I don’t see the point,'' the free agent receiver said on The Shop on Thursday. "I really don’t.

"I’d rather play when that pressure’s on.”

That's a terrific spin on the situation, which is much more about his actual physical health than any "playoff pressure mindset.''

Beckham Jr.’s search for a new team has seen him visit with the Dallas Cowboys and two other teams recently, but he hasn’t signed with anyone. (No, not even the New York Giants, much to the "f---ing'' chagrin, we assume, of OBJ's "official driver.'') The Thursday interview positioned that fact as if OBJ simply hasn't made up his mind yet ...

Which is at best a secondary issue here.

“I haven’t made the decision,” Beckham said. 

Questions about his readiness to take the field - starting with CowboysSI.com reporting last week on the Cowboys' "red flag'' concerns due to his unwillingness to work out even though his knee rehab supposedly had him "cleared to play'' - are now central to the story.

OBJ is being honest about one thing, at least. Cowboys star Micah Parsons said that Beckham told him he'd actually be ready to play "in five weeks,'' which aligns with what Beckham is now saying.

“I would like to be in a stable environment. Get up 6 a.m., leave at 6 p.m. for four weeks and then let’s talk about it.''

That wasn't his position going into this process, as his circle not only introduced the thought of him being "cleared to play'' but also suggested Beckham should get a contract worth between $13 million and $20 million APY.

The Cowboys are still working on ideas (a multi-year deal to secure his future rights for when he's actually healthy?) - but surely not that idea, as there is simply no guarantee of his "four weeks'' or his "five weeks'' or his "cleared to play'' at all ... and in fact the notion that his previous surgery made this same knee a "ticking time bomb'' that would inevitably "explode'' creates - just like OBJ's own remarks - more questions than answers.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.

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