Sean McVay on if He'd Kick the Tires on WR Odell Beckham Jr.: 'I Would Never Say Never'

Where do the Rams stand on the possibility of entering the Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes?

The Rams have a knack to acquire star players to their roster and another notable playmaker just became available via waivers.

Odell Beckham Jr. was waived by the Cleveland Browns after he and the team reached a settlement, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter

The settlement in which Beckham and the Browns agreed upon includes a reworked contract that will terminate the final two years on the deal he initially signed with the club. That makes Beckham a free agent following the conclusion of the 2021 season while he still holds a $7.25 million salary for the remainder of this season if a team decides to claim him.

While there are always ways to manipulate the salary cap space, the Rams do not currently have the room to add Beckham to their active roster without making adjustments to their payroll. 

On Friday, Rams coach Sean McVay was asked about the possibility of kicking the tires on the three-time pro bowl receiver and while he didn’t commit to anything, McVay left the option open.

“We're not going to get into those kinds of things," McVay said. “I would never say never on anything like that. So that's where I'll leave that."

The Rams' depth at wide receiver has shrunk considerably in recent days as McVay announced Monday that rookie Tutu Atwell will have season-ending shoulder surgery and veteran receiver DeSean Jackson was released after wanting to play elsewhere after not seeing enough involvement within the Rams' offense.

In all likelihood, it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Rams to claim Beckham. They only have $3.5 million in cap space, per Over the Cap. Meanwhile, Beckham wanted out of Cleveland because of similar reasons that Jackson wanted out. Both pass-catchers are looking for a concrete role in the offense where they are being peppered with targets on a consistent basis. 

While the Rams could use a lift at wide receiver for depth purposes, they can't guarantee what kind of usage that would entail. They already have Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson holding down the top three wide receiver spots, meaning there's not much room for a new acquisition to crack the starting lineup.

With Beckham reconfiguring his contract which makes him a free agent after this season, that narrowly shrinks the teams that are in the running to claim him since it's just a rental. Only contending teams this season would perhaps draw interest. While the Rams fit that mold, factoring in their cap space and waiver priority which ranks No. 30, Beckham would be a long shot for the Rams to bring him aboard.


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Nick Cothrel is the Publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick and Ram Digest on Twitter @NickCothrel & @RamDigestSI for more Rams coverage.


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Nicholas Cothrel
NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel covers the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated.