Cleveland Browns: Writer predicts Odell Beckham Jr. trade to Patriots

Odell Beckham Jr. is once again at the center of trade rumors

The Cleveland Browns just dismantled the rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs, but some folks are already in full-fledged offseason mode, and that means Odell Beckham Jr. trade proposals.

Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton floats the idea that Beckham could be shipped to the New England Patriots for a second-round pick. This deal could potentially make some sense for the Browns; Beckham has cap hits of $15 million-plus in each of the next three seasons, and zero dead money if cut after next season.

He dealt with a groin injury all of 2019 that hampered his effectiveness, and tore his ACL in Week 7 of this season. Injuries have been a constant with him throughout his career, which has significantly slowed down a player who was on a Hall of Fame path after three seasons.

Cleveland could use that $15 million per year to improve its defense or extend key players like Baker Mayfield or Denzel Ward. There’s also the fact that Mayfield has played significantly better without Beckham on the field. There’s a large enough sample size now to conclude that.

It’s unclear why exactly that is the case, but there is certainly something there. Perhaps general manager Andrew Berry would consider moving on from Beckham, especially if he’s offered a second-rounder, which would be 46th overall this year.

This trade makes pretty much no sense for the Patriots; why trade a valuable asset for a player approaching 30 when you have no quarterback to throw to him? These attempts to speed up rebuilds almost never work out.

As good a player as Beckham has been in the past (and he’s only 28, and on a pretty team-friendly contract), it’s difficult to see a team offering a second-round pick for him. His production over the past two seasons has fallen off a cliff compared to what he used to put up, and the injury concerns will always be there.

To make the situation more difficult, what if Beckham’s struggles with Mayfield are a result of the poor coaching the team received in 2019, and the fact that the team hadn’t yet grown comfortable under Kevin Stefanski in 2020?

Mayfield did not play well over the first six weeks of the season, but since the second quarter of the Week 7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, he’s been one of the league’s very best passers. And that’s with a receiver group that has very redundant skillsets and struggles to create separation against man coverage and over the top.

Beckham is different. He’s an elite athlete with the speed to take the top off the defense and the quickness to get open against man. He’s the missing ingredient to this Browns offense, and the potential reward of finally getting him and Mayfield to click is worth the risk. Through 22 games together, Mayfield has gone left while Beckham heads right. When Beckham is open, Mayfield doesn’t look his way. When Mayfield throws the ball to Beckham, he’s double-covered. The pairing just hasn’t worked, but with the way the entire team has been transformed this season, giving this one more shot is the right thing to do.

He’s also been a model teammate since arriving in Cleveland, and the reputation he received in New York appears to be very unfair to the person that Beckham is. It can’t be easy for him to watch this team make a playoff run without him.

Odell Beckham Jr. hasn’t been at his best with the Browns, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be in the future. If Stefanski can get Mayfield and Beckham humming in 2021, then an offer of a second-round pick will sound laughable.