With Drake London sidelined for at least the next week, the Atlanta Falcons are desperate to add help at receiver for new starting quarterback Kirk Cousins. Darnell Mooney has enjoyed the worst season of his career, while Casey Washington and David Sills V are far from reliable starting receiver options.
That desperation led Atlanta sports reporter Miles Garrett to pitch an interesting idea. Odell Beckham Jr. was just reinstated by the NFL following his six-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, which could see the Dirty Birds make a desperate call to OBJ.
Garrett noted that the 33-year-old free agent has serious ties to the Falcons' coaching staff, which makes his idea a lot more than just a pipe dream. Both Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson coached Beckham Jr. amid the Rams' Super Bowl run back in 2021, and the veteran receiver has been looking to make an NFL comeback.
Falcons could capitalize on Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson connections to sign ex-Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr.
The three-time Pro Bowler remains one of the best receivers of this generation, but injuries hampered what would've likely been a Hall-of-Fame career. For years, the ex-LSU star was right up there in conversations with Julio Jones and Antonio Brown, but age has started to catch up to him.
With that being said, the Super Bowl champion still has what it takes to be a productive NFL receiver, He has five 1,000-yard seasons and two All-Pro nods under his belt, and this doesn't even account for what many deem to be the greatest catch in NFL history during his time with the Giants in 2014.
That's a resume that fans can't like lightly when London has more yards than the rest of their receiver room combined. Given both Morris and Robinson have ties to the former Offensive Rookie of the Year, both that and the surplus of snaps for grab at receiver could give them a leg up in signing OBJ.
If he were to sign with the Falcons, Atlanta would mark his sixth NFL destination after playing for four different teams in the last four years. He last appeared in nine games for the Miami Dolphins in 2024, catching nine passes for 55 yards after a 565-yard campaign with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023.
However, something worth noting is that Beckham has suffered season-ending injuries in 2017, 2020, and 2021, and two of those were ACL tears. The knee injuries in consecutive seasons halted his career momentum after sitting out in 2022, but the Dirty Birds could help provide a career revival.