Cowboys' Jerry Jones Says 'Stand by' on Odell Beckham Jr., Explains Interest in WR

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggested this week that the organization still has interest in free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

According to ESPN's Todd Archer, Jones provided a somewhat cryptic message when asked about the Cowboys signing OBJ at the NFL owners meetings, saying: "I don't want to talk about that, but stand by. This thing could break."

Beckham, who is still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered during the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals last season, has visited with the Cowboys, New York Giants and Buffalo Bills over the past couple of weeks.

Jones noted that Beckham still isn't fully ready to play, but explained why the Cowboys continue to keep tabs on him and could ultimately sign him: "Great players make great plays. Great ones make exceptional plays. And so I hope we advance here where a handful of great plays, if I may be arm waving about it, could be the difference in a world championship."

At times this season, there were some who thought that Beckham would sign with a team, return to the field during the latter part of the regular season and be primed for a strong run in the playoffs.

Beckham himself seemed to shoot down the idea of seeing any regular-season action last week when he said he doesn't "see the point" of playing before the postseason.

Now, doubt is creeping in regarding whether he will play at all this season, with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reporting Wednesday that "several" NFL teams believe OBJ is leaning toward sitting out the entire 2022 campaign and signing with a new team after the season.

The speculation was fueled this week by two of the teams in the thick of the Beckham pursuit signing other veteran wideouts.

Buffalo brought back slot receiver Cole Beasley, who played for the team from 2019 to 2021 and appeared in two games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season before retiring. Meanwhile, the Cowboys signed longtime Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton.

Jones' comments seem to suggest that the signing of Hilton doesn't preclude the Cowboys from signing OBJ, but their receiver room is getting a bit crowded with Hilton joining CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Noah Brown.

When healthy, the 30-year-old Beckham is a potential game-changer, and the Rams learned that last season.

OBJ was a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons with the Giants from 2014 to 2016, but injuries slowed him down in subsequent years, and he was waived by the Cleveland Browns last season before signing with L.A.

Beckham went on to record 27 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games with the Rams, followed by 21 grabs for 288 yards and two scores in four playoff games.

While the Cowboys are 10-3 and have one of the NFL's best offenses statistically, they haven't received consistent production from their wideouts outside of Lamb.

That is why interest in Beckham seemingly still exists, but there are no guarantees when it comes to OBJ seeing any on-field action this season.