The Dallas Cowboys met with free agent Odell Beckham Jr. on Monday, December 5, but no deal has been announced between the team and the star receiver.
Beckham will meet with the New York Giants, the Buffalo Bills, and the Cowboys this week. Beckham has not played since tearing his ACL during the Super Bowl while playing for the Los Angeles Rams last season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke during his weekly appearance with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday about the conversations the team had with Beckham but did not elaborate on the details of the conversation.
“We had pretty extensive meetings. We spent quite a bit of time together,” Jones said. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Beckham has stated that he would undergo physicals with teams but would not work out for them without a deal on the table.
“I’m not confident at all,” Jones said of signing Beckham without knowing his abilities. “That’s the issue. We’ve got a good bead on that. We’ve got a great read on his career. It has to be addressed, and that’s when you see if you can make a deal or not.”
The two parties planned to meet on Tuesday. Jones said there was plenty of discussions still to be had.
“We’ll get back together [Tuesday] and see where we go from here,” Jones said. “[There are] a lot of variables. It has to fit for both parties. This is like getting married. You’re not getting together to have issues after you get together.”
Beckham has already met with the Giants, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. In his first season with the Giants, Beckham made what is often considered one of the most impressive catches of all time, a one-handed diving grab on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite a standout career, Beckham has suffered numerous injuries, including multiple hamstring issues, a fractured ankle, a quad injury, a core muscle injury that required surgery, and two torn ACL injuries.
Since entering the league in 2014, Beckham has played only three complete seasons, missing many games due to injuries. His last full season was in 2019 while a member of the Cleveland Browns.
He was available for just seven games in 2020 and played in only 14 games in 2021, including just eight games as a member of the Rams.
In addition to a colorful injury history, Beckham also runs afoul of the NFL regularly. He has been suspended multiple times for fighting with players and violating equipment policies, incurring tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
Beckham has yet to be medically cleared to play and would need at least some practice and ramp-up time with any team he chooses, leading to speculation that the star is primarily interested in the best opportunity in 2023 rather than this season.
The Cowboys are hoping that Beckham would add to the offense’s already strong receiving core as the team pushes toward the NFC East title and a playoff appearance. Currently, Dallas sits two games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles.
