There’s a problem with having choices. Eventually, you’ve got to make a choice.
Receiver Odell Beckham Jr., a free agent for the first time in his career, has yet to pick his next team. According to NFL Media, Beckham is “going to take some time” to choose a destination, and his decision could be “a few days away.”
This development comes at the end of a day on which some thought he could be picking his next team. The viable candidates currently include (in no particular order), the Saints, Chiefs, Packers, Seahawks, and Patriots.
In the early afternoon, some thought he was destined for the Saints. By the middle of the afternoon, someone connected to the situation told us that OBJ is leaning Chiefs. Currently, the decision is there’s no decision.
Ultimately, Beckham has to decide what’s important to him. Does he want to be the No. 1 receiver? (Saints.) Does he want to play with a great quarterback? (Packers, Seahawks, Chiefs.) Does he want to play for a team he has admired from afar for years? (Patriots.) Does he want to play deep into January and chase a ring?
Money is an issue, but there are two levels to that. What he’ll make this year versus what he could make as a free agent in 2022. Also, would a team want him to sign for multiple seasons, or just through the end of the current campaign?
The longer he waits to decide on his next team, the less time he’ll have to get up to speed. If he waits until Friday or Saturday, would he play on Sunday? Probably not.
Then there’s the fact that he’s known for a week that he’d potentially have to pick a new team. While he shouldn’t make a decision before he’s ready to do so, this isn’t something that just fell out of the sky and landed in his back yard at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. You’d think he’d be ready by now to pull the trigger.
Finally, the longer this lasts, the greater the chance that someone who hasn’t made a push for Beckham will decide to do so. Maybe he’s hoping that the extra time will flesh out other potential suitors.