NFL Rumors: Odell Beckham Jr. Opted Against Contract Last Year to Fully Rehab Injury

Free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is preparing to sign with a team this offseason after opting against doing so during the 2022 season so he could focus on injury recovery.

According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, Beckham "wasn't close enough to 100 percent" last season, so he decided to "focus all of his attention on his rehabilitation program" rather than signing with one of the teams he visited with, which included the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and New York Giants.

Beckham suffered a torn ACL in the Super Bowl win with the Los Angeles Rams two seasons ago, and now that he is one year removed from surgery to repair the knee injury, the belief is he will have a more robust market in free agency.

The 30-year-old Beckham burst onto the scene at the start of his NFL career with the Giants, finishing with at least 90 receptions for 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns in each of his first three seasons, yielding him an Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and three Pro Bowls.

An injury cost him all but four games in 2017, and while he bounced back to finish with over 1,000 yards in both 2018 and 2019, he didn't look like the same explosive player he was in his first three campaigns.

The Giants traded OBJ to the Cleveland Browns prior to the 2019 season, and things didn't go according to plan in parts of three years in Cleveland, prompting the Browns to waive him during the 2021 season.

Cleveland's loss was the Rams' gain, as L.A. signed Beckham and made him a huge part of the offense down the stretch and in the playoffs.

In eight regular-season games with the Rams in 2021, Beckham reeled in 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns. He then proceeded to take his game to the next level during the postseason.

Beckham recorded 21 grabs for 288 yards and two touchdowns in four playoff games, including the opening touchdown of the Rams' Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Although Beckham didn't get to finish out the game after tearing his ACL, he played a huge role in the Rams winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history and first Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

Despite missing the entire 2022 season, Howe noted that Beckham could be viewed as the top wide receiver available in free agency this offseason.

There are some solid wideouts expected to hit the market, such as JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jakobi Meyers, Allen Lazard, Parris Campbell and Robert Woods, among others, but none are surefire No. 1 wide receiver material.

Beckham has been a No. 1 wideout for most of his career, and while it isn't certain how he will bounce back from the knee injury, he could be worth the risk for a team in need of a versatile offensive weapon.