Browns waive Odell Beckham Jr. Seahawks 9th in claiming, with cap space. Cue speculation
.JPG "Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver Jarvis Landry and quarterback Baker Mayfield stand for the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Cleveland. The Rams won 20-13. (AP Photo/David Dermer)")
An NFL star becomes available. Instantly, speculation builds about him possibly joining the Seahawks.
It’s as predictable as rain during football season in Seattle.
Yet the Cleveland Browns deciding Friday morning to release Odell Beckham Jr. creates more credible links to the Seahawks than usual.
The Seahawks entered Friday in a rare spot for them: ninth in the NFL waiver-claiming order. That order is set each week following a season’s third week based on the reverse order of current league standings.
So in this situation, Seattle being 3-5 has its privileges. Despite their rocky season so far, the Seahawks are just one game out of a playoff spot in the NFC, which has just six teams with a winning record.
The NFL’s official transactions for Friday did not not show any move by Cleveland with Beckham. So the earliest the 24-hour waiver claiming period could begin for him is Saturday afternoon.
Yes, Seattle has far more pressing needs, such as center, pass protection in general, running-back injuries and stopping the run.
But Beckham, 29, is why the Seahawks had been seeking and sticking with Josh Gordon the last couple years, through his long league suspension: a former 100-catch wide receiver with a Pro Bowl if not All-Pro pedigree who has worn out welcomes with multiple teams. Beckham is the deep-threat wide receiver outside coach Pete Carroll covets for Russell Wilson, Seattle’s franchise quarterback who is uniquely accurate on deep passes.
Wilson is on his way back to playing following finger surgery Oct. 8. He could play as soon as Nov. 14, the Seahawks’ next game at Green Bay.
Could he be throwing to Beckham at Lambeau Field?
Beckham’s contract calls for a base salary of $14.5 million in 2021. There are nine weeks left in this regular season, so the prorated amount a claiming team would take on for him is $7.65 million for the rest of this season.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported Friday the Browns and Beckham “have discussed a new contract structure that would reduce his base salary as low as around $1M, per source. All of this isn’t done, both sides must agree, but possible Browns eat much of remaining $7.25M and a team inherits vet minimum salary off waivers.”
That’s how much the Browns want him gone, which by itself should make other interested teams pause.
Yet $1 million would be value for a three-time Pro Bowl receiver, even one who’s had only two productive seasons warranting his contract over the last five years. He had 77 catches with six touchdowns his final year with the Giants in 2018. In his first season with Cleveland the following year, Beckham had 74 receptions and four scores.
He missed 12 of 16 games in 2017 with the Giants because of injury. He had 23 catches in 2020. He’s had 17 receptions in six games this season. Baker Mayfield targeted him just once last week in Cleveland’s home loss to Pittsburgh. His last big year was 2016 with the Giants: 101 catches with 10 touchdowns.
Technically, Beckham has two more years on his contract at $13.75 million in scheduled salary each year. But those years are not guaranteed. A claiming team could renegotiate or cut that contract after 2021, and not owe him any more money on his current deal.
The Seahawks as of Friday morning had an estimated $13.38 million in salary-cap space, per overthecap.com. Only Jacksonville, Philadelphia and Denver had more cap space.
The eight teams above Seattle in the NFL waiver-claiming order are the Lions, Dolphins, Texans, Jaguars, Giants, Washington and the Eagles.
If Beckham goes unclaimed by all 32 teams in the 24-hour waiver-claiming period ending Saturday afternoon, he would become an unrestricted free agent and be able to sign with any team at any agreed-upon price.
Signs Friday morning suggested it may not get to that point.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 8:13 AM.
