Fans shouldn’t get their hopes up about wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. coming to the Green Bay Packers. Once again, rumors are running around about Odell Beckham Jr. potentially joining the Green Bay Packers, but fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. If the last few seasons have told us anything, it’s that Odell will not likely join the Packers in 2022.
The idea that the 3x Pro-Bowl receiver could potentially come to Titletown first gained ground back in the 2018 NFL season when he wanted out from the New York Football Giants organization. Despite numerous hints that he wanted to join Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, he packed up to go to Cleveland with the Browns.
The same scenario erupted once again last season when Odell Beckham Jr. wanted out of the Browns organization and the Packers were labeled as a “favorite” landing spot for the five-time 1,000+ yard receiver. When all roads pointed to Green Bay, as we all know, the L.A. Rams wound up as OBJ’s new home.
Now, here we are, for the third time in which the Green Bay Packers are rumored to be a landing spot. By now, we should know that even if they’re “rumored” to be a potential spot for him, there’s almost a zero percent chance of luring him to the NFC North in green and gold. This is due to three key reasons:
3.) Odell Beckham Jr.’s Toxic Personality
It’s no secret that Odell has his fair share of behavioral issues as he’s been frequently caught in 4k lashing out on the sidelines with temper tantrums similar to that of a child. This was a major contributor to why the New York Giants were so willing to let him go in 2018.
Obviously, OBJ is a very talented athlete. There’s no doubt about it. However, when you’re a player on a team and you see your teammate throw his helmet on the sideline or spike a watercooler, it’s difficult to be willing to work with them. If you have one guy who is not willing to be a team player, it will have a crippling domino effect on the rest of the team and locker room.
The Green Bay Packers have historically been a team that simply does not put up with toxicity and off-the-field distractions (clearly taking Aaron Rodgers out of the conversation for a minute here). Green Bay is a small town where you are constantly interacting with the fans and if a player doesn’t present a good role model for the community, the organization will see to it that they don’t stay very long or at all.
2.) Green Bay is a Small Market Team
One of the most significant factors as to why the Green Bay Packers struggle to bring in free agents or marquise players at the trade deadline is because it’s a small market team in the NFL. When you think of the prime spots to go, you’re thinking of New York, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, and Boston — cities where you can get paid while still having other things to do apart from playing football.
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, all you have is the Packers. Lambeau Field is quite literally the center of the city and as you walk around the streets and drive around town, you notice that the Packers are Green Bay. For players with big personalities, you want a life outside of football and that’s simply something you will not get here.
1.) Injury History and a Torn ACL… Twice.
ACL tears are a major, major, injury, especially considering how important it is to have sturdy knees when running routes as a wide receiver. Odell Beckham Jr. infamously tore his ACL while playing for the Cleveland Browns and was labeled as a risk when the Rams made the trade for him.
Then during last season’s Super Bowl matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, OBJ not only tore his ACL while running a route, but he tore the same ACL as he did when he was in Cleveland. The fact that he’s able to run at this point is incredible. To play in the NFL again in a significant role? That’s borderline delusional. This isn’t even considering the fact that he suffered a broken leg during his time with the New York Giants…
For any team to sign the receiver on for the rest of the 2022 NFL season is a significant financial risk. In order for him to realistically join a team, he would have to take a substantial pay cut so as to provide insurance to the team in the event he goes down again due to injury. The risk just simply outweighs the reward here.