Odell Beckham Jr. Rumors: Packers Wouldn't Offer WR a Contract More Than the Minimum

The Green Bay Packers reportedly wouldn't offer Odell Beckham Jr. a contract worth more than the veteran's minimum when they pursued him after his midseason departure from the Cleveland Browns.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported negotiations with the Packers were "bogged down" by the lack of movement on Green Bay's end. Beckham signed a deal with the Rams for a $1.25 million base salary and an additional $3 million in possible incentives, which the Packers would have been willing to match, as previously reported by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The decision for Beckham, then, became one of where he would rather play football for the remainder of the 2021 season. It was seemingly a no-brainer.

"He wasn't going to take the same, or less money, to go to Green Bay [over Los Angeles]," a source told Schefter. 

Beckham recorded two receptions for 18 yards in his Rams debut in Week 10. He's expected to be much more involved in the team's Week 12 matchup against the Packers with the Rams coming off a bye.

While it appeared Beckham was signing up to be the third receiver on the Los Angeles depth chart, Robert Woods suffered a season-ending ACL tear a day after Beckham signed with the Rams. Beckham is thus expected to slot in as the WR2 behind Cooper Kupp, and it's possible he winds up taking over the one or two carries Woods got in the running game each week. 

The Packers would have offered him an easier avenue to being a WR2, but Woods' injury cleared the path for more touches.

Green Bay will get a first-hand look at what it is missing in Sunday's matchup between the teams.