The talk of a trade that would send receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the Giants to the Rams continues to dominate (sort of) the NFL’s annual meetings. Peter King of SI.com breaks down in his Wednesday column the various ways in which a potential trade makes sense, and the notion of the Rams advancing the NFC West arms race by securing an H-bomb named Beckham will fascinate any football fan that craves a potential Dream Team story line.
But here’s the thing: The league has 30 other teams. And the notion that the Rams could get Beckham will surely bring one or more of them to the table, if for no reason other than to force the Rams to give up more than they’d like to give up to get Beckham.
So which teams could do it? Look to the Rams’ rivals in the NFC West. The Seahawks currently are reshaping their roster to be more focused on offense not defense. So why not make a run a Beckham? They tried it once before with Percy Harvin, a move that didn’t really work out (to say the least) but that at least shows a willingness to do something bold by coach Pete Carroll and G.M. John Schneider.
Then there are the 49ers, who have the cash and cap space (and a top-1o pick to dangle) and who have been willing to spend it on the likes of Jimmy Garoppolo, Jerick McKinnon, and Weston Richburg. Faced with the Rams adding another major star player to the mix, why not evaluate whether Beckham would work well for the 49ers as a member of their team -- and not as a member of the Rams?
The Cardinals could be players in this one, too, if they actually care about keeping pace in the NFC West (some would say at this point maybe they don’t). Larry Fitzgerald’s contract isn’t so rich that the Cardinals couldn’t pursue Beckham, and pairing those two with running back David Johnson would make it even easier for Sam Bradford to play quarterback on one leg.
So the longer the talk of a Beckham trade to the Rams remains just that, the greater the chance that someone else will swoop (or as Chris Simms would say “swope”) in. That’s when things could get very interesting.