OBJ sweepstakes: Cowboys, Giants or Bills?

The Odell Beckham Jr. derby is heating up, with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants believed to beryllium astatine the beforehand of the pack. But don't number retired the Buffalo Bills.

Beckham was removed from an American Airlines flight connected Sunday, though Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones said the incidental volition have nary bearing connected his aboriginal with the team. His visits with the Giants and Bills stay unaffected, arsenic well.

Beckham is scheduled to conscionable with the Bills connected Friday, though the Giants and the Cowboys look astir apt to onshore the coveted escaped agent. The 2 part rivals are pitted against 1 different disconnected the tract aft the Cowboys dominated the Giants successful the 2nd fractional connected Thanksgiving.

Jones has already had a speech with Beckham. He said it was a "great meeting." The Cowboys, who person a sojourn scheduled with the receiver connected Monday, person been publicly recruiting Beckham. They are considered the "favorites," according to a root with cognition of the situation.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, moving backmost Ezekiel Elliott and linebacker Micah Parsons person each made their pitches.

The Giants are expected to conscionable with Beckham opening Thursday. It's a getting-to-know-him league for the caller regime. The Giants person possibly been moving much down the scenes with 2 of his adjacent friends, Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard, connected the roster. Barkley and Shepard attended Beckham's lavish California day bash during their bye week.

Beckham is believed to beryllium adjacent to afloat wellness aft tearing the ACL successful his near genu successful the Super Bowl triumph with the Los Angeles Rams successful February. It has been 9 months since the injury, and he's expected to motion with a caller squad successful the adjacent fewer weeks.

The question is where.

Why Beckham volition motion with Dallas

If it is astir winning, however tin it not beryllium the Cowboys? They swept the Giants this season. Which squad is poised for a amended postseason run? The Cowboys. Which backmost would helium alternatively have? Prescott. The Giants mightiness beryllium capable to connection him a larger relation arsenic a receiver from the get go, considering what the Cowboys person successful CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, but the Cowboys person much going for them successful each different department.

From Jones to Prescott, Elliott, Lamb and Parsons, the Cowboys person enactment a full-court recruiting property connected Beckham that would marque Kentucky men's hoops manager John Calipari proud. Normally Jones is quiescent erstwhile it comes to escaped agents for fearfulness of impacting the competitory quality of the negotiations. He has not been shy astir his tendency to adhd Beckham. -- Todd Archer

Why Beckham makes the Cowboys a contender

This question can't truly beryllium answered afloat without knowing conscionable however steadfast helium is and what benignant of information helium is in. But if each that checks out, past helium gives the Cowboys different enactment connected the outside. Should thing hap to Lamb oregon Gallup, they would person a beauteous bully security policy.

The Cowboys are a run-first squad with Elliott and Tony Pollard, but determination volition travel a clip erstwhile they volition request to propulsion the shot to win, particularly successful the important games down the agelong and into the playoffs. Beckham showed past play with the Rams that helium tin larn a strategy rapidly and person success. But determination has to beryllium a connection of caution due to the fact that of his knee. Gallup tore an ACL a period oregon truthful earlier Beckham and has needed clip to circular into form. Can Beckham truly be, well, Beckham successful abbreviated order? -- Archer

Likelihood Beckham re-signs with Dallas successful 2023

I conjecture this is an presumption that helium volition judge a one-year connection arsenic a rental player. That mightiness beryllium good with the Cowboys, considering however choky they could beryllium against the 2023 wage cap. But if it is not, past the Cowboys volition apt person to determination astir rather a spot of wealth to marque it each work. Prescott's headdress fig adjacent twelvemonth is $49.13 cardinal and the lone mode the Cowboys tin summation alleviation would beryllium to widen his contract.

They volition person fiscal decisions to marque connected Tyron Smith and Elliott, portion besides trying to support Pollard, choky extremity Dalton Schultz, information Donovan Wilson and 17 others who are scheduled to beryllium unrestricted escaped agents aft this season. They tin besides unfastened hold talks for the archetypal clip with Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs. The Cowboys had involvement successful acquiring Brandin Cooks astatine the commercialized deadline from the Houston Texans, but 1 of the hang-ups was the $18 cardinal helium was guaranteed successful 2023. If Beckham is looking for top-end money, past this mightiness not work, oregon would necessitate the Cowboys to get retired of their fiscal comfortableness portion with escaped agents. -- Archer

play

0:57

The "Sunday NFL Countdown" unit breaks down who has the champion stake astatine acquiring Odell Beckham Jr. and the worth he'll bring to that peculiar franchise.

Why Beckham volition motion with New York

Well, it's New York. The Big Apple. The spot wherever Beckham was drafted No. 12 wide successful 2014, burst onto the country and made that breathtaking drawback against, you know, the aforesaid Cowboys that privation to motion him. This means thing to Beckham. Being connected the aforesaid squad with Barkley and Shepard (even if he's connected injured reserve) is an enticing proposition. They stay 2 of his closest friends. But arsenic Barkley said recently, returning to New York, the spot wherever Beckham began his vocation and reached stardom, means something. It would let Beckham to stay successful the spotlight and grip unfinished business.

He admittedly played the worst crippled of his vocation successful his lone playoff crippled with the Giants successful a 2016 nonaccomplishment to the Green Bay Packers. "I deliberation it would beryllium a large communicative to travel backmost to a spot that you were astatine earlier and proceed to assistance physique success," Barkley said. The Giants prima moving backmost told ESPN aft Thursday's crippled that helium speaks to Beckham regularly. They talked arsenic precocious arsenic past week. Beckham besides maintained an amicable narration with Giants ownership (John Mara and Steve Tisch) contempt the messy 2018 divorce. His animosity was ever directed astatine erstwhile wide manager Dave Gettleman. -- Jordan Raanan

Why helium makes the Giants a contender

The Giants' request astatine the presumption is well-documented. They're throwing borderline practice-squaders retired determination connected a play basis. Any limb would beryllium a boost to their discourtesy and for backmost Daniel Jones. But what Beckham tin really bring to the array this play is unknown. This is thing Barkley has repeatedly said -- Barkley himself needed a batch of clip to get backmost to his erstwhile aforesaid aft tearing an ACL.

It's the 2nd clip Beckham has torn that aforesaid ACL. Beckham is 30 years aged and hasn't taken a azygous signifier rep his season. Not successful the spring, summertime oregon fall. His scope of outcomes erstwhile helium does instrumentality varies greatly. Still, it's hard to ideate he's not an NFL-caliber receiver. Even if he's conscionable a contributor, the Giants would instrumentality that. It's harmless to accidental helium tin beryllium an adjacent oregon No. 2 alongside Darius Slayton by default. The Giants conscionable don't person overmuch other astatine the position. -- Raanan

Likelihood helium re-signs with New York successful 2023

Everything I'm proceeding is that Beckham wants much than a one-year deal. He wants immoderate guaranteed wealth moving forward. Deals successful the scope of what the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's Chris Godwin and the Los Angeles Chargers' Mike Williams person signed person been mentioned. That doesn't look realistic, particularly with the Giants. If anything, wide manager Joe Schoen has been highly disciplined financially this season.

He hasn't made a azygous signing during this play that wasn't for the seasoned minimum. One of his superior goals was to get the Giants wage headdress successful bid this twelvemonth and for the future. Putting immoderate benignant of important wealth into the aboriginal with Beckham doesn't look to acceptable what he's been doing. But from the start, determination has been speech of Beckham going elsewhere for the remainder of this play and landing with the Giants adjacent year. Maybe that is simply a much apt script than Beckham signing determination now. -- Raanan

Why Beckham volition motion with Buffalo

Josh Allen is simply a bully spot to start. Playing with the fifth-year backmost has been portion of the entreaty for galore of the team's additions successful the past year. The Bills roster is 1 of the champion successful football, adjacent with the offense's caller dip successful show successful the five-game agelong since the bye week. They person shown an quality to triumph adjacent games and inactive person an 8-3 record, contempt not playing their champion football. There is besides plentifulness of accidental to person a large relation successful the discourtesy with the Bills hurting astatine wide receiver (Jamison Crowder, Marquez Stevenson and Jake Kumerow are each presently connected injured reserve).

The team's wide receiver extent down Stefon Diggs besides hasn't rather played up to the level that the Bills would like, truthful adding idiosyncratic similar Beckham would springiness him plentifulness of opportunities to beryllium an integral portion of a coagulated violative group.

And what's amended than joining a squad with your friends? Pass-rusher Von Miller has been publically recruiting Beckham to articulation the Bills for months and is surely besides doing truthful down the scenes. The brace won the Super Bowl unneurotic with the Rams past play and Miller's connection surely could spell a agelong way. Beckham's erstwhile LSU teammate, cornerback Tre'Davious White, has besides sent Beckham, "probably 2,700 Buffalo Bills emojis." -- Alaina Getzenberg

Why helium makes Buffalo a contender

The Bills are a contender without Beckham, but adding a receiver of his caliber conscionable takes this squad that overmuch stronger. Bills wide manager Brandon Beane said earlier this period that, "if we deliberation helium tin assistance this team, we'd beryllium brainsick not to astatine slightest look into it."

He would not lone adhd to the Bills' receiving crippled arsenic a people for Allen, but helium would besides instrumentality immoderate of the attraction distant from Diggs, who is connected gait to acceptable vocation highs successful receiving yards and touchdowns this season. As a team, the Bills person the third-most drops successful the NFL (20) with Gabe Davis (six) and Isaiah McKenzie (four) combining for 10 of those. Davis, the team's No. 2 receiver, has dropped 10% of his targets. More consistency and reliability astatine the presumption volition spell a agelong mode successful helping Allen, and portion Beckham's accumulation hasn't been rather to the level it was earlier successful his career, helium did not driblet immoderate of his 48 regular-season targets with the Rams past season.

The Bills don't request Beckham to travel successful and beryllium a No. 1 receiver, they person Diggs for that. But this receiver radical has been a weakness astatine times, and adding idiosyncratic with his endowment and acquisition could beryllium the boost the discourtesy needs. -- Getzenberg

Likelihood helium re-signs with Buffalo successful 2023

It's surely wrong the realm of possibilities. The Bills person astir of their cardinal players locked down for the foreseeable aboriginal and are looking to go contenders for the Super Bowl connected a accordant basis. This is simply a squad that is built conscionable for that. It should beryllium an appealing spot for Beckham to settee successful and play for implicit aggregate seasons, particularly aft proceeding astir Miller's experience.

The question present could travel down to however overmuch Beckham is looking to beryllium paid and the grade to which the Bills tin spot his quality to enactment steadfast implicit a longer period. Beckham has lone had 2 seasons successful which helium played successful each regular-season game.

Buffalo has aggregate starters acceptable to deed escaped bureau that person been cardinal contributors to the defence this twelvemonth successful linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and information Jordan Poyer. The Bills besides presently person the lowest disposable headdress abstraction successful the league for 2023, per ESPN's roster management, though that is taxable to change. Beane has referenced wanting to physique a squad that is consistently making Super Bowl runs, not conscionable putting each the chips successful 1 handbasket (or season). There could beryllium a acceptable here, arsenic the Bills could usage him successful 2023, but it's not a necessity for the aboriginal that the Bills motion him semipermanent arsenic assistance could besides beryllium recovered elsewhere. -- Getzenberg