Washington Football Team: Is Odell Beckham Jr. a feasible addition after Browns release?

The NFL trade deadline was a monumental disappointment.

Outside of Von Miller being shipped off to the Los Angeles Rams, the highly-anticipated cutoff was a huge snooze-fest.

In fact, the biggest storyline leading up to Tuesday’s deadline was Odell Beckham Jr.’s ongoing saga with the Cleveland Browns, which came to a head after he was excused from practice in the middle of the week.

After Cleveland and Beckham’s representatives failed to reach a compromise, the franchise granted the star receiver’s release on Friday.

Beckham will be available on waivers first thing Monday and he can be claimed anytime after 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. If he’s not claimed, however, he’ll become a free agent for the first time in his career.

In light of Beckham’s release, should the Washington Football Team consider claiming (or signing) the three-time Pro Bowler?

Should the Washington Football Team pursue Odell Beckham Jr.?

There’s a lot to consider here. For starters, Washington’s offense desperately needs an influx of talent. With Antonio Gibson playing through injury, Logan Thomas on IR, and Curtis Samuel still fending off his groin issue, Terry McLaurin and JD Mckissic have carried the load offensively this season.

For context, Washington’s quarterbacks have combined to throw for 1,941 yards through eight games. McLaurin (573) and McKissic (332) make up for 46.6% of those yards. That’s utterly absurd in a league that emphasizes distribution and sharing the wealth to keep opposing defense’s honest.

With guys like DeAndre Carter and Adam Humphries becoming more involved in recent weeks, there should be plenty of targets to go around.

That brings us to our second point. Would Belichick be worth the so-called baggage he comes with? For as much of a nuisance and diva as some fans think he is, he’s really just a superstar who wants the ball in his hands.

Is that really such a bad thing? Sure, he goes above and beyond to convey his unhappiness, but he didn’t make a fuss in Cleveland until it became apparent that Baker Mayfield couldn’t get him the ball. It’s part of why OBJ’s dad released an 11-minute (!) video that depicted plays where Beckham beat his defender(s) and Mayfield didn’t even look in his direction. Again, not defending the antic, but context matters.

Be honest. Any superstar with a big ego would take that personally.

With that out of the way, would Beckham Jr. make sense for Washington, which is seventh in the current waiver order?

It’s tough to say, especially with McLaurin due for an extension that will likely make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league. Further, they still have Samuel on the books for $12.9 million and $13 million respectively — but just $12 million total in dead cap — over the next two seasons.

Washington has $10.476 million in available cap space, so Beckham’s rest-of-season salary shouldn’t be a problem. He’s currently owed $7.25 million of his $15.75 million salary, and the Browns nixed the final two years of his deal, meaning he’ll be a free agent after this season with no guaranteed money on the books in 2022 and 2023.

For those unaware, Beckham entered the year with base salaries of 13.75 million, albeit un-guaranteed, in 2022 and 2023.

That’s a little seducing, no? Either way, here’s our final verdict.

As much as Washington needs another playmaker on offense, they should let the season play out and reevaluate the position in March.

If Ryan Fitzpatrick was healthy, this would be a different story. Right now, Washington doesn’t have an available quarterback with the requisite arm strength (or accuracy) to get the most out of the former No. 12 overall pick.

In a vacuum, this is a matter of poor timing, Washington’s QB situation and the team regressing after they showed real promise in 2020.

We won’t know who claims Beckham — or if he’s even claimed — until Tuesday, so the next few days will be full of speculation. However, fans in Ashburn should rest easy knowing that Washington likely won’t play a role in the sweepstakes.