Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after Sunday’s big win over the Colts that he would be comfortable “doing something uncomfortable” with Odell Beckham. Jones, though, took a different tone Tuesday, saying he was “not confident at all” with signing the free agent receiver without a workout.
It surely wasn’t a coincidence that Jones’ latest comments came after Beckham underwent a thorough physical at the team’s training facility with team doctors.
Indeed, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Cowboys have concerns that Beckham’s recovery from his torn anterior cruciate ligament has not progressed enough to ensure he would play before mid-January.
“It appears his rehabilitation will extend into the postseason,” Moore writes, with no guarantees that Beckham can play this season.
The Cowboys have viewed Beckham as being the player to put them over the top in 2022. If they have doubts about whether he will help them this season, there is no reason to sign him now.
Beckham, who visited the Giants and Bills last week, isn’t working out for teams, raising a red flag about where his rehab stands. Reports last month indicated doctors have cleared him.
When Beckham initially tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in 2020, he needed 11 months to return. He tore the same ACL in Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13 and underwent surgery Feb. 22.
Jones paused Tuesday before responding to a question about Beckham’s ability to play this season.
“I’m gonna kind keep that one at bay,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan.
In the first six games Beckham played after returning from his 2020 ACL tear, he made 17 catches for 232 yards and no touchdowns. That’s an average of 2.8 catches and 38.7 yards per game.