Could Odell Beckham Jr. Become an Option for the Cleveland Browns?

After showing up for Team Wildcats in the Tom Brady-led Fanatic Flag Football Classic last weekend, a mostly forgotten superstar wide receiver is looking for a comeback into the NFL

Odell Beckham Jr., who came down with an impressive one-handed signature touchdown grab during the game against Team USA, said he was hoping the flag football tournament could be “a starting point” for a potential signing with an NFL team.

It's 2026, and OBJ is still doing one-handed catches.🤯 pic.twitter.com/tcUs6dRvNl
— Preme Football (@premefootball) March 21, 2026

“Looking forward to hopefully getting the opportunity to play this year, and this is kind of just the starting point,” said Beckham Jr. to Kay Adams at the conclusion of the event.

The former first-round pick out of LSU hasn’t played in the league since his 2024 campaign with the Dolphins that was cut short due to injuries.

But, after a year away from the game, could Beckham be seriously considered by a team on the lookout for desperate help at the wideout position? And, more importantly, could that team be the Cleveland Browns, for whom he played from 2019 to 2021?

Why an Odell Beckham Jr. Comeback Doesn’t Make Sense for the Browns

Let’s start off with OBJ himself. After a sizzling start to his career with three memorable seasons with the Giants, injuries started kicking in, with Beckham only appearing in four games in 2017 and 12 games in 2018. That and escalating run-ins with the franchise led to his trade to Cleveland for the 2019 campaign. This would be his last 1,000 yard receiving season to date.

Injuries kept coming, including a torn ACL in 2020 and a torn labrum in 2021, when he was cut midseason before latching on to the Rams. He quickly made the most of this opportunity, playing a crucial role for L.A. during Super Bowl LVI by catching the first touchdown of the contest. A knee injury prevented him from playing the second half of the game, and he spent the whole 2022 season out of the league.

His first true comeback attempt was with the Ravens in 2023, with a modest output. Then, the aforementioned brief stint in Miami.

OBJ’s peak moments came over a decade ago, and he hasn’t been able to shake off injuries throughout his pro career. He’s a big -time name who hasn’t been able to live up to hefty expectations since his stellar performance with the Rams.

And that’s without getting into his messy breakup with Cleveland. Beckham was cut from the Browns in early November of 2021 after a noticeable disconnect with then quarterback Baker Mayfield had rendered the pairing ineffective. OBJ’s father also may have had a hand in the surmounting tension, after posting a video on social media highlighting plays where Beckham was seemingly open but not targeted by Mayfield. Cleveland tried unsuccessfully to deal him to another team before the deadline.

As much as the Browns need a solution, or two, at the wideout position, Odell Beckham Jr. just isn’t it. Cleveland needs to take a big chunk of its draft capital and invest it in the position. But that’s not all. The Browns then need to stay the course and develop those prospects.

Beckham may function as a fourth option, maybe a third, in an offense already set at the top two spots. He could contribute as part of a rotation with limited targets and the occasional trick play. The Browns are nowhere near being able to afford that luxury. They urgently need a WR1 and possibly a WR2 or WR3, depending on which version of Jerry Jeudy shows up in 2026. There’s no sense in bringing OBJ to compete for a bubble spot on the roster with a Malachi Corley or Jamari Thrash.

Beckham could make for a good feel-good story if he manages another successful comeback to the league after so many injuries derailed a once promising career. Cleveland is just not the ideal stage for it.