Odell Beckham Jr. Talks 'Shut Down' As Cowboys Sign T.Y. Hilton to 1-Year Contract?

The media hasn't let go of the idea of Odell Beckham Jr. signing with the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones says he hasn't, either. But now along comes T.Y. Hilton ...

FRISCO - How many faded Pro Bowl receivers in their 30's who haven't played in a year can the Dallas Cowboys afford to collect?

T.Y. Hilton is in the fold, the former Indianapolis Colts star signing a one-year deal to come to Dallas. He arrived here at The Star on Monday amid little fanfare, took his physical, impressed enough ...

And he's a Cowboy.

Said coach Mike McCarthy: "He's a great addition. We’ll get him out there Wednesday and get him acclimated. He had a workout. Everything passed with flying colors. The timing is right. He’s ready to go.”

All of which marks a series of drastic differences from the other faded Pro Bowler in his 30's who hasn't played in a year who came to DFW on a visit with much fanfare, with some medical issues that are concerning, and did not impress enough for the Cowboys to have made an offer.

As part of Dallas' postgame fun after Sunday's surprisingly tight 27-23 win over the lowly Houston Texans, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked, of course, about that player - Odell Beckham Jr.

Moved on yet, Jerry?

“Not at all,'' Jones replied enthusiastically. "With a big exclamation point!”

Do we buy that Dallas hasn't "shut down'' on OBJ? Maybe.

How about "slowed down''?

So far, OBJ's "World Tour'' - once maybe designed to win him a multi-year contract worth between $13 million and $20 million - has resulted in no offers from any team.

No, Dallas' signing of Hilton does not etch into cement a give-up on Beckham.

But the Cowboys have insisted all along that they need players now.

Meanwhile, the Beckham "red flags'' related to his knee surgery - starting with his disappointing but revealing decision to not bother working out for the Cowboys, Bills or Giants - continued to pile up. His insistence that he "could play right now'' but that he is choosing not to is quite ridiculous (and arguably part of the silly "circus'') ... Because if his knee isn't ready to allow him to even work out for teams, teams would never, ever put him on the field for real.

Is Beckham in line to return in time for the playoffs? Again, this is his claim, offered with no supporting medical evidence.

“I’d rather play when the pressure is on,'' OBJ said. "I’d rather play when the lights are on.''

Most of all, though, he'd "rather play'' while himself knowing for sure that his knee is not once again a "ticking time bomb.''

In the end, OBJ is worth continued examination. But the trigger just got pulled on Hilton, who at 33 figures to at least be "reliable'' ... something that simply cannot be said about Beckham right now.

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