On Monday, a report broke that shocked the NFL world. The Los Angeles Rams are said to be discussing a trade with the New York Giants for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Now, this all got started because Giants co-owner John Mara basically said OBJ isn’t untouchable in statements made Sunday that clearly were aimed at sending a message to OBJ. Since then, reports have emerged indicating the Giants aren’t shopping him. And on Tuesday, general manager Dave Gettleman wouldn’t even discuss it, one way or another.
#Giants GM Dave Gettleman says “next question” when asked if he wants Odell Beckham on his team. … He won’t respond to whether the #Rams contacted him. Won’t respond to the report that Odell won’t take the field unless he gets a contract extension.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 27, 2018
That said, based on Mara’s own comments you have to believe they’re at least listening to calls.
On Tuesday at the NFL Annual League Meetings, Rams head coach Sean McVay did nothing to shoot down the rumor that his team is pursuing Beckham.
“We can’t talk about anybody that’s under contract with any other team, but I think, if there’s one thing you can appreciate about what we’ve done this offseason, there’s no trade we wouldn’t explore or look into if we feel like it can upgrade us as a team,” said McVay, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “Hypothetically, I think a player of his caliber can kind of really do everything, but like I said, we really don’t get into discussing players that are with other teams, just out of respect for tampering and the things that come with that.”
The Rams have been incredibly aggressive this offseason. They made trades with the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs for top-tier cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. They also signed one of the biggest fish in free agency on Monday in defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Nobody can deny adding OBJ to the mix in Los Angeles would “upgrade us as a team,” as McVay so eloquently stated. With that in mind, as outlandish as it seems we have to take the trade rumor seriously.
And boy, if the Rams were to somehow make a deal for Beckham, then they’d have to be considered a Super Bowl or bust team in 2018.