Latest Patriots WR news bodes well for LA Rams re-signing OBJ

The LA Rams would love to re-sign free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. But the problem is rather complicated checkpoints in both the way any NFL contract would need to be made, plus how the NFL rules for rosters fall into place.

You see, OBJ is not expected to be able to play until November 2022 at the earliest. So any NFL team who signs him to their roster now would essentially carry him on their roster through training camp, practices, and preseason, and all the way past the initial cuts to a 53-man roster. That is due to the fact that the NFL requires teams who wish to activate any player to their 53-man roster from IR must have that player start on their 53-man roster.
In essence, the LA Rams, or any NFL team, cannot sign and stash OBJ on IR now and plan to activate him in November 2022. A second problem for both player and team is how to prorate a contract for a season with uncertain availability? It’s a tough speed bump to navigate.

Of course, there is the option of placing him on the Physically Unable to Perform list. I do not believe that the team will choose that option, because it does not afford as much flexibility in managing the off-season roster as you may originally think.

A Sports Illustrated article written by Charlotte Carroll has a good article explaining how the PUP list works. Essentially, the rules for players on the PUP list are these:

1. Players can attend meetings, but cannot practice during training camp while on the list
2. The player must finish the preseason on the PUP to be transferred to the regular PUP list
3. Players on the PUP list are out for the first six weeks of the season
4. Players on the PUP list count against the 90 man roster limit, not the 53-man roster
5. Once a player is medically cleared to practice, a 21-day window to activate or send to IR starts

It’s that ‘counts against the 90 man roster’ that is one of the complicating factors right now. The other aspect is that it negates any option of adding Odell Beckham Jr. to the active roster early.  If the Rams opt to use the PUP on any player, they must keep that player out of practice for the first six weeks of the NFL season. That projects to no practice for OBJ until October 16, 2022. But, what if he is ready sooner?

Patriots are out of the running

That is not to say that one NFL team will plow through the uncertainty to sign Odell Beckham Jr., despite the uncertainty. But one such team, the New England Patriots, who had expressed interest in him, have now opted to fill their receiver needs in another way.

That is good news for the LA Rams, who may be planning to sign Beckham after they make their cuts to their 53-man active roster. Will OBJ be able to wait that long? Well, for now, he’s rehabbing. And thanks to a heavily incentivized contract that paid most of his salary due to the Rams’ post-season success, he should not be struggling for an immediate infusion of cash.

How long will it take for the LA Rams to re-sign OBJ? Well, it could take a few days, weeks, or even months. The LA Rams clearly want Odell Beckham Jr. back in the fold. The only question may be: Are the LA Rams worth waiting for from OBJ’s viewpoint?