The 2022-23 Los Angeles Rams apparently don’t have to wait until game day to endure painful losses.
As a return trip to the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl, fades from sight, the possibility of Odell Beckham Jr putting a blue and yellow-horned helmet back on is likewise morphing into fantasy football. The latest from ESPN’s Adam Schefter reveals that Beckham has compiled a shortlist of desired locations as his return to action looms, one that excludes a Rams team defined by offensive struggles.
The Buffalo Bills. Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers are believed to be Beckham’s destinations of choice, leaving the site of his most recent glory days behind him as they struggle to keep pace in the NFC playoff hunt.
“The Rams and Green Bay Packers might also have been featured prominently in Beckham’s list,” Schefter acknowledges. “But as both teams fall further out of playoff contention, the less likely it is that Beckham will opt to sign with one of those franchises.”
Los Angeles (3-5) has dropped four of its past five and currently sits 2 1/2 games behind Seattle for the NFC West division lead. They’re only one game behind San Francisco for the final NFC wild card but the 49ers own the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the squads’ annual divisional get-together.
The Rams’ offensive performances have offered little to suggest that they’re capable of mounting a postseason push, one where Beckham likely could help but not fully solve. They’ve failed to earn 300 yards in consecutive contests, a span that includes a season-low 206 in a 16-13 loss in Tampa Bay last week, which also featured only nine Los Angeles first downs.
With Beckham “nearly ready to play” after tearing his ACL in February’s Super Bowl win over Cincinnati (one that saw Beckham score the game’s opening touchdown, the culmination of a strong postseason showcase for the receiver after he came over from Cleveland), a bidding war for his services amongst the contenders should serve as one of the major headlines of the NFL’s push toward the playoffs. Each of the team’s on Beckham’s alleged wishlist currently sits in a playoff spot with Buffalo sitting atop the AFC bracket if the season ended today.
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Schefter also declares that Beckham, who turned 30 earlier this month, is looking for a multi-year deal, which would perhaps also handicap the Rams., who dealt away a good portion of their immediate offseason capital away in an effort to land Beckham and Von Miller to complete its championship group. Both have since moved on, with Miller now representing the aforementioned Bills.
The Rams will try to get back on the winning path on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Arizona Cardinals (1:25 p.m. PT, Fox).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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