Unless the Rams are hoping for the offensive equivalent of Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh, the trade for receiver Brandin Cooks likely means that they won’t be trading for Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The question now becomes whether anyone else will.
Reports and speculation have surfaced that other teams could be or should be interested. The 49ers and Chargers make plenty of sense; the other L.A. team has even more incentive now to bridge the sizzle gap between franchise competing for the same hearts, minds, and wallet in the nation’s No. 2 market.
The fact that the Cooks trade happened now, and not with the Rams’ pick on the clock on the first night of the draft, shows that the interest in Beckham was real -- or at least that Patriots coach Bill Belichick believed it to be real. Belichick surely would have insisted on waiting to do the deal sat a time when he couldn’t be leapfrogged at No. 23. The Rams apparently pushed back, telling the Patriots if they don’t do the deal now, the Rams reserve the right to do the deal for Beckham later.
Now, the Beckham deal to the Rams won’t be happening. It doesn’t mean the trade won’t be made to another team, but taking the Rams out of the mix could give the Giants less leverage when it comes to getting the most they can for Beckham.