Odell Beckham Jr.

Cleveland Browns safety John Johnson III questioned how wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will fit in the Los Angeles Rams' offense.

Beckham, who signed with the Rams after being released by the Browns, will face plenty of competition for targets from Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Van Jefferson and Tyler Higbee.

"I don't know how that's going to work," Johnson told reporters Thursday. "... I just feel like they had a good thing going, like a complete offense. From being in L.A., I know for a fact the offense runs through Cooper Kupp. Even in the run game, the pass game, the screen game, it kind of runs through Cooper Kupp. Obviously, Odell's a big name. He's going to want that attention as well. So it'll be interesting."

Beckham generated ample interest on the free-agent market. The Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks were also in contact with the three-time Pro Bowler, per ESPN.

His decision to join the Rams came as a bit of a surprise because of the team's pass-catching depth. Fellow veteran wideout DeSean Jackson recently secured his release from L.A. and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after failing to receive consistent targets.

Johnson, who played for the Rams from 2017 through 2020, said he would have likely picked a team where he'd be higher in the pecking order offensively if in OBJ's position, but he also noted head coach Sean McVay is capable of making it work.

"Coach McVay, he's one of the best doing it. I know he'll find a way to get it done," Johnson said. "But just right off the bat, I'm like I wouldn't really want to go there if I were him, but we'll see how it goes, and I wish him the best."

Beckham's departure from Cleveland came after he recorded just 17 catches for 232 yards and no touchdowns in six appearances this season.

The 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year averaged 96 catches and 1,374 yards across his first three NFL seasons with the New York Giants. He scored 35 TDs in 43 games during that span.

He suffered a fractured ankle during the 2017 season, however, and he's never been able to match his early-career production over the past four years.

Beckham won't be ticketed for a high-target role in Los Angeles barring a rash of injuries, but he moves from the 25th-ranked passing offense in Cleveland to the No. 3 aerial attack in Los Angeles. He also joins one of the league's top Super Bowl contenders.

In addition, since he only signed a one-year contract, he'll be able to go through a more traditional free-agent process during the offseason to find a team where he could play a prominent role.

It's unclear when Beckham will make his Rams debut. If he doesn't play in Monday night's clash with the San Francisco 49ers, he'll have to wait until after the team's Week 11 bye.

There is no shortage of words that one can associate with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Talented. Explosive. Exciting. Mercurial. Dramatic. Highlight Reel King (OK, that was three words). But to date, there's one word that has not been associated with the 29-year-old.

Champion.

It would appear that Beckham is hellbent on changing that. After clearing waivers, he could have signed with anyone who wanted him, and he certainly had his options. But Beckham appears to have prioritized winning a Super Bowl over target share, electing to sign with a Los Angeles Rams team that already had one of the better wide receiver rooms in the league.

For the Rams, it's just one more addition that shows Los Angeles is 1,000 percent in on winning now. For Beckham, it's a chance to win a title and put a disappointing tenure in Cleveland behind him. Plenty will see this as a huge win for both player and team.

Maybe it is. But there is also the potential for this signing to be viewed as a mistake in a few months. The bar for the Rams was just raised that much higher. The pressure on Beckham to perform is as great as it ever was. An argument can be made that there's only one way this signing will be considered a success.

And that's if OBJ and the Rams are standing on the SoFi Stadium field with confetti raining down on them on February 13.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, there were a number of Super Bowl contenders that made a pitch to Beckham, who was released by the Browns on Monday after two-and-a-half disappointing seasons in Cleveland.

But Beckham settled on the Rams, who sit a game back of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West. Per ESPN, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said he'll gladly take another weapon in the passing game and thinks Beckham will fit right in:

"It's an opportunity for us as a team, it's an opportunity for him to come in here and prove himself to us. What our room is about in the receiver room is pretty special. I know he'll fit right in and continue to get better and hopefully help us as a team. ... Everybody on our team carves out their role. They do a great job of figuring out what that role is going to be and going out there and proving it both on the practice field and in games and given the opportunities I know he'll do the same."

It doesn't take much thought to find things to like about this signing. With Beckham alongside Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, the Rams now sport (on paper) the most dangerous wide receiver trio in the NFL. Beckham has five 1,000-yard seasons, 51 touchdown catches and three Pro Bowls on his professional resume.

Oh, and he did this, if you're into acrobatic catches:

Show-off.

The Rams were already third in the NFL in passing yards per game. Once Beckham is up to speed in the offense, they could become next to impossible to defend. If defenses double Cooper Kupp (who leads the league in targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns), then some poor schmucks are going to have to man up in single coverage against Woods and Beckham.

Good luck with that.

However, while the potential payoff could be enormous for the Rams, this is by no means a no-risk signing for player or team. There are multiple things that could go wrong—and derail L.A.'s pursuit of a championship in the process.

For starters, Beckham made that catch against the Dallas Cowboys all the way back in 2014. His last 1,000-yard season came in 2019—his first season with the Browns. There have been multiple serious injuries along the way, including a fractured ankle in 2017 and an ACL tear in 2020. Over his first three seasons, Beckham scored 35 touchdowns. Over the last four-plus seasons, he has 16.

Beckham hasn't been the uncoverable megastar people remember in quite a while—at least not consistently.

There's also the matter of Beckham's exits from New York and Cleveland. In New York, Beckham publicly called out Giants management, said he wanted out not long after signing a massive extension—and then complained about being traded. In Cleveland, Beckham's father posted a video criticizing Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield for "missing" the wide receiver when he was open.

Beckham's drops were not featured in the video. Go figure.

It was the same in both places. When Beckham became unhappy with his role, that unhappiness quickly became a massive (and public) distraction. There were teammates who stuck up for him, but according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, one unnamed Browns player said of Beckham: "He does nothing. He talks to no one. He's just got a malcontent attitude."

Then there's the matter of Beckham's fit with his new team. To this point in his career, Beckham has been the no-doubt No. 1 wide receiver wherever he has played. That isn't the case in Los Angeles. Kupp has emerged as Matthew Stafford's go-to receiver (and then some). Woods has been in Los Angeles since 2017 and knows Sean McVay's complex offense inside and out.

Browns safety John Johnson III knows that offense inside and out as well after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Rams. And while he wished Beckham nothing but success in his new home, Johnson told reporters he wonders how he will fit in.

"They had a good thing going, like a complete offense," Johnson said. "I don't know. I just feel, like, from being in L.A., I know for a fact the offense runs through Cooper Kupp; even in the run game, the pass game, the screen game, it kind of runs through Cooper Kupp. So obviously, Odell's a big name and he's going to want that attention as well. It will be interesting."

It's not like we haven't seen this movie before. In Los Angeles. This year. The Rams signed DeSean Jackson in the offseason as a vertical deep threat and complement to Kupp and Woods. Jackson became dissatisfied with his role and lack of targets and was eventually released.

There's also the matter of Beckham's next contract. NFL teams aren't likely to pay over $15 million a year to a No. 3 wide receiver. Beckham will want to show he's much more than that. And there are only so many targets to go around.

Now, maybe all this worrying will be for naught. Maybe Beckham will be a model teammate who accepts his role with the Rams and goes all-out to help the team any way he can. Maybe his addition will turn an already potent Rams offense into an unstoppable juggernaut that chews its way through the league all the way to Super Bowl LVI.

But in signing Beckham, the Rams fixed something that wasn't broken—and added a potentially volatile new element to the locker room. Expectations that were already sky-high where the Rams were concerned are now that much higher. Beckham was already one of the most talked-about players in the league, and that was when he was doing next to nothing on the field in Cleveland. Now, his every stat line will be the first topic on the following Monday's broadcast of Around the Horn.

If Beckham fits in seamlessly with the Rams and Los Angeles wins the Super Bowl, then general manager Les Snead will be hailed for making the moves needed to put the team over the top. But it has been quite a while since Odell Beckham fit in seamlessly anywhere.

And if this goes sideways, turns into a sideshow and the Rams come up short of that confetti bath, signing Beckham could do down as one of the bigger personnel boondoggles in recent memory.

Odell Beckham Jr.'s free agency was short-lived as he landed with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday. Now, the details of his contract are emerging.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports Beckham's one-year deal is worth up to $4.25 million. Beckham reportedly received a $500,000 signing bonus and will receive $750,000 for the rest of the season while another $3 million is available in team-based incentives for how the Rams finish the regular season and the postseason.

Rapoport added Beckham was willing to take less money in order to ensure that he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. If the Rams end up winning the Super Bowl, Beckham's last bonus will give him more money than he was set to earn with the Cleveland Browns.

Cleveland placed Beckham on waivers on Monday, ending a disappointing three-year run. The three-time Pro Bowler struggled to develop a chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield and suffered a torn ACL midway through the 2020 season. He returned in Week 3 this season, recording 17 catches for 232 yards with no touchdowns in six games.

Beckham's separation from the Browns was a messy one. The team could not find a trade destination for the three-time Pro Bowler before the NFL trade deadline passed last week. 

Beckham's father, Odell Beckham Sr., posted an Instagram video showing Mayfield failing to throw to the 29-year-old. Beckham was then excused from practice while the Browns worked towards releasing him.

Beckham taking less money to sign with Los Angeles is another sign of his strong desire to be with the Rams. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported Thursday that Beckham had wanted to join the team since Sean McVay was hired as head coach in 2017.

The Rams (7-2) will look to bounce back from Sunday's loss to the Tennessee Titans in a road game against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.

Newly signed Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is reportedly finally with the team he's always desired.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported Thursday that Beckham, who was traded from the New York Giants to the Cleveland Browns in 2019, has wanted to play for the Rams ever since Sean McVay was hired as head coach in 2017.

"Odell had been wanting to play for the Rams since Sean McVay got there," Glazer said. "Even after he got traded to Cleveland, he was still going, 'Can I still get traded to the Rams?' Like, 'No, dude, it doesn't work like that.'"

Beckham was placed on waivers by the Browns on Monday after a three-year tenure that failed to live up to expectations. Coming off a torn ACL that derailed his 2020 season, he's struggled to find his groove in six games this year with 17 receptions for 232 yards and no touchdowns.    

A three-time Pro Bowler, Beckham was once one of the most prolific receivers in the NFL. He had four 1,000-yard seasons in five years with the Giants.

The Rams already have a strong receiving corps led by Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. Kupp leads the NFL with 1,019 yards and 10 touchdowns while no other receiver in the league has over 900 yards entering Week 10. Glazer noted that McVay had a discussion with his receivers before Beckham was officially signed.

"Sean McVay went into his receiver room this morning, talked to all the receivers, told them where his mindset was," Glazer said. "They're all good with it, welcoming Odell with open arms."

Beckham is joining an offense predicated on its passing attack. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford leads the league with 2,771 passing yards and is second with 23 touchdowns.

At 7-2, Los Angeles is one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. The team also acquired Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller at the NFL trade deadline, and the addition of Beckham is yet another move to position itself in the lead in the title hunt.

The Rams will face the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.

A number of Los Angeles Rams players, including cornerback Jalen Ramsey, wideouts Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp and quarterback Matthew Stafford, helped recruit Odell Beckham Jr., per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.

Beckham, who was released by the Cleveland Browns last week, signed with the Rams on Thursday.

Per that report, the quartet got Beckham on the phone and "drove home to Beckham the Rams' culture, environment and ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl this year. Entering that conversation, a source told The Athletic, Beckham was torn between the Rams and the Packers."

"It felt like college (recruiting), didn't it?" Woods said, laughing, about the call. "Just talking to him, making him feel comfortable. ... Really just wanted him to feel a part (of the team) and contribute to our offense."

Stafford added that he has a lot of respect for Beckham as a player and is excited to be working with him, even if it might take some time to get him into the flow of a new offense:

"What he's able to do when the ball is in the air, he has proven it year after year. He's outstanding when the ball is in the air, going up and making catches. He's really good after the catch as well, when he can stay grounded and catch and run. So, he's obviously a very, very talented player. I'm excited about getting the opportunity to work with him, and what he can bring to our team."

Just how the 29-year-old will fit into the passing game is unclear. Kupp (74 catches for 1,019 yards and 10 touchdowns) is having a season for the ages, while Woods (45 catches for 556 yards and four scores) is having another solid year as well. 

DeSean Jackson struggled to fit in as a field-stretching third option. It's fair to question if Beckham, who hasn't posted elite numbers since 2016, will make a huge splash himself, though he's an upgrade over Jackson. 

Injuries have limited Beckham in recent years, and it became clear during his time with the Cleveland Browns that he and quarterback Baker Mayfield never developed much chemistry. 

The 7-2 Rams are banking on Stafford and Beckham forging a better connection. If they do, an already dangerous offense is going to be downright frightening. 

And it may be one of the high-profile moves, alongside the offseason trade for Stafford and in-season trade for Von Miller, that helps propel the team to a Super Bowl title. 

Jarvis Landry is hoping for a Super Bowl battle against friend and former teammate Odell Beckham Jr.:

Beckham was released by the Cleveland Browns this week before signing a deal with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.

Landry and Beckham spent the past three seasons together in Cleveland after the two were also teammates at LSU. Beckham struggled to live up to expectations with the Browns after earning three Pro Bowl appearances with the New York Giants, but he will try to get a fresh start with the Rams, a 7-2 team with the No. 3 passing attack in the NFL.

The midseason additions of Beckham and Von Miller alongside other top players like Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey certainly makes Los Angeles one of the top contenders for a Super Bowl title.

Landry will try to help Cleveland hold up its end of the bargain after a 5-4 start to the 2021 season.

The rich get richer in Los Angeles, as the Rams agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Financial terms have not yet been disclosed. ESPN's Field Yates provided some figures on the Rams prior to the move for the ex-Cleveland Browns wideout while also noting how a team close to being over the cap could pull this off:

Jason Peters of Over the Cap offered more perspective on the Beckham signing in light of the Rams' recent release of wideout DeSean Jackson:

Beckham started this year on the Browns, but the two sides mutually decided to part ways. He was put on waivers and cleared them before entering free agency, meaning Cleveland was on the hook for some money, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated:

As for Beckham's new destination, he joins a Rams wide receiver room that includes Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek and J.J. Koski.

Kupp, who has 74 catches, 1,019 yards and 10 touchdowns through nine games, is firmly entrenched as the team's No. 1 wideout. Woods, who has 45 catches, 556 yards and four scores, should stay as the No. 2 wide receiver.

Beckham figures to slide ahead of Jefferson as the team's No. 3 wideout. He was off to a slow start in Cleveland this year (17 catches, 232 yards in six games), but he's one of the game's most talented wideouts in the past 10 years.

Here's how the entire offensive lineup could look in three-receiver sets alongside a two-deep depth chart, per ESPN.

Rams Lineup

QB: Matthew Stafford (John Wolford)

RB: Darrell Henderson Jr. (Sony Michel)

WR1: Cooper Kupp (Van Jefferson)

WR2: Robert Woods (Ben Skowronek)

WR3: Odell Beckham Jr. (J.J. Koski)

TE: Tyler Higbee (Kendall Blanton)

LT: Andrew Whitworth (Joe Noteboom)

LG: David Edwards (Bobby Evans)

C: Brian Allen (Coleman Shelton)

RG: Austin Corbett (Bobby Evans)

RT: Rob Havenstein (AJ Jackson)

Beckham has three Pro Bowls and five 1,000-yard seasons on his eight-year resume. The only years he didn't amass 1,000 yards are 2017 (season-ending fractured ankle) and 2020 (season-ending torn ACL).

It's certainly possible Beckham never ends up as the player he once was when he tore up defenses for the New York Giants from 2014 to 2018, but he's going to get his chances on a high-powered scoring attack averaging 29.0 points per game.

Teams aren't going to be able to double-team him with Kupp, Woods and tight end Tyler Higbee on the field, and he'll have his chances to do work in single coverage.

OBJ joins a 7-2 Rams team second in the NFC West behind the 8-1 Cardinals. L.A. is clearly all-in, as the team also traded for Denver Broncos edge-rusher Von Miller. The Rams are looking for their second Super Bowl appearance in four years, and they'd get to host it at home in SoFi Stadium if so.

For now, L.A. is looking forward to its Monday Night Football matchup versus the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 15.

Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday after being waiver by the Cleveland Browns last week. But what does the signing mean for his fantasy outlook?

The main question is, will Beckham produce more with the Rams than he did with the Browns?

The 29-year-old saw minimal production in Cleveland next to Jarvis Landry and an emerging Donovan Peoples-Jones. In six games this season, the three-time Pro Bowler has just 17 catches for 232 yards and no touchdowns. 

While Beckham's presence on the Rams should make the team better, he still might not have a massive impact in fantasy. The 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year now finds himself in a loaded receiving group that includes Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and Robert Woods. 

Kupp leads the league in catches (74), receiving yards (1,019) and receiving touchdowns (10) in nine games. Woods and Jefferson have also been effective, combining for 989 yards and seven scores. 

Kupp has played 92 percent of L.A.'s offensive snaps this season, while Woods has played 93 percent and Jefferson has played 78 percent. If that continues, Beckham might find it difficult to get playing time, and it's unlikely he'll see enough snaps to be a fantasy starter. 

DeSean Jackson was recently released because of his minimal playing time behind L.A.'s top trio. If Beckham is slotted in behind those receivers on the depth chart, he won't be a solid option for fantasy managers. 

However, Beckham could potentially take over the team's third spot from Jefferson. It would be wise to see how things shake out between Beckham and Jefferson over the next few weeks before making a move, though.

It's unlikely fantasy managers can pick up Beckham this late in the season anyway. He's rostered in 79 percent of Yahoo Sports fantasy leagues. 

Meanwhile, Jefferson is rostered in just 37 percent of leagues, but his playing time should take a hit with Beckham on board, which makes him a candidate to be dropped by managers over the next few weeks.  

It's official—Odell Beckham Jr. is signing with the Los Angeles Rams. 

And that, of course, brings with it a whole slew of questions about how this addition will help—or hinder—the fantasy value of players like Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Van Jefferson. 

Stafford was already a clear QB1, and Beckham's addition should only bolster that standing. Fantasy players rostering him should view this addition as the cherry on top of the sundae. 

Don't expect Kupp to see any sort of hit in fantasy value either. It's very clear that Stafford and Kupp have a special connection, and no player has been more valuable in any format than Kupp, who is averaging an incredible 26.2 fantasy points per week in points-per-reception formats. 

To put that in perspective, that's more than any other player in fantasy—including the quarterbacks. Beckham's addition isn't going to cut into his target share or overall role. Kupp is the top guy in this passing game. 

The most interesting facet for the Rams is whether Beckham's addition is going to affect Woods, Jefferson or tight end Tyler Higbee much. Maybe the Beckham we saw in his prime years would be a threat to Woods' role in this offense. 

But when is the last time we saw that version of Beckham? 

The answer is 2016, when he caught 101 passes for 1,337 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the five seasons since, Beckham has a grand total of 16 touchdown receptions. He's exceeded 1,000 receiving yards in just two of those campaigns and hasn't reached 90 receptions once, a mark he surpassed in each of his first three years. 

You can blame injuries or a poor working relationship with Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, and then hope that he's rejuvenated in L.A. with Stafford and head coach Sean McVay. Perhaps we'll see the downfield threat that once wowed the NFL community with stunning, acrobatic catches. 

But it's hard to imagine that Beckham is going to seriously change Kupp or Woods' target share in this offense. Kupp stays a WR1. Woods remains a WR2. Higbee, already a fantasy TE2, might have fewer targets go his way now but not enough to dramatically change his fantasy outlook. 

Really, the biggest loser in all of this is Jefferson, who probably takes a backseat to Beckham. That's if Beckham is still the downfield threat we once saw. Jefferson has lost much of his fantasy value, at least for now. 

But it's fair to question if Beckham has much either. He's a flex consideration at the moment, but don't be shocked if his role in this offense is fairly modest.