Odell Beckham Jr. Signing with Cowboys? Jerry Jones 'Final' Decision
ARLINGTON - Following his Dallas Cowboys’ nail-biting 40-34 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, team owner Jerry Jones spent part of Christmas Eve opting to decline a gift.
"It’s not realistic to think about having him in any meaningful way for the playoffs,” Jones said when asked about the much-ballyhooed pursuit of Odell Beckham Jr. “That’s not dismissing (signing Beckham in) the future, but it is dismissing, for the most part, the reality of him getting in here and helping us in the playoffs.''
In other words, the 2022 version of the Odell Obsession is dead.
This of course flies in the face of Jones himself literally having announced that the three-time Pro Bowl receiver "will be joining us'' - though maybe Jerry can claim he was making a prediction about March 2023, when Beckham's "ticking time bomb knee'' will presumably be healthy enough to actually allow him to play.
But as Beckham continues to rehab from a torn ACL he suffered in last February’s Super Bowl, the facts have become fairly clear: OBJ's claims aside, he is simply not ready to play football. And while some continue to buy what he's selling - that he could contribute now but would really turn it on for his new team once the playoffs commence - there is simply no medical proof of any such thing.
“I haven’t made the decision,” Beckham recently said on where he plans on signing. “I’m not saying I couldn’t step in and play (in the) regular season, but I don’t see the point. I really don’t. I’d rather play when that pressure’s on.”
That, frankly, is spin.
Now, what about March 2023?
Jones surely feels that by developing a relationship with Beckham now, there will be a clearer path to signing him then. What the Cowboys may be missing there: Beckham's search for a desired $20 million APY contract will, based on his history, have nothing to do with "loyalty'' or "relationships.''
He's been seeking a payday, which is well within his rights.
And Dallas has been seeking a reasonable investment - we know the Cowboys talked contract with him - and with "reasonable'' now unobtainable, it'll be newcomer T.Y. Hilton being asked to provide a fresh spark to the Dak Prescott-led offense and the CeeDee Lamb-led receivers room.
Hilton did just that on Christmas Eve as he debuted and made one of the biggest plays of the game when he hauled in a 52-yard catch on a key third-and-30 conversion to fuel the Cowboys' comeback over Philly.
Said Hilton: “I can still play ... (That catch) sparked us.''
And there is the OBJ problem: He cannot, at this time, play. He cannot, at this time, "spark'' anything but headlines.
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