Silver Minings: Raiders odds to land Odell Beckham Jr.

UPDATED on 11/8:
Our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook have opened odds on Odell Beckham’s next team. The Raiders are priced at +750, which is the fourth lowest odds in the NFL.

PREVIOUSLY:

Over the last few days, rumors have been swirling about the Las Vegas Raiders adding a veteran wide receiver to the roster. With Henry Ruggs III no longer on the team, the Raiders could use a playmaker outside.

So far, the only transaction the team has made at the position is promoting undrafted free agent Dillon Stoner to the active roster. Stoner joins Hunter Renfrow, Bryan Edwards and Zay Jones as the only wideouts on the active roster. Jones is expected to take on a bigger role moving forward, but he’s far from a proven commodity so the Silver and Black have been linked to a couple of veteran pass-catchers, Odell Beckham Jr. and DeSean Jackson.

Beckham has spent the last three seasons with the Cleveland Browns after beginning his career in New York with the Giants. His time in Cleveland started well with a 74-catch, 1,035-yard and four-touchdown campaign in 2019, but it’s all been downhill since then.

In 2020, the wideout suffered a torn ACL about halfway through the year and there were questions about how effective he and quarterback Baker Mayfield are together. Those questions have spilled into this year as Beckham only has 17 catches for 232 yards and no touchdowns in six games.

The dysfunction between the receiver and quarterback became undeniable when Beckham’s father posted a video of his son being open but not getting targeted on Tuesday, pining the duo’s lack of production on Mayfield. The Browns excused Beckham from practice on Wednesday and Thursday while discussing his future with his agent.

So, it seems as if OBJ’s days with the Browns are numbered, leading to questions and speculations on where he’ll land next

Las Vegas initially sat third on the list to acquire Beckham Jr., behind the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens.

The Saints and Ravens are also potential playoff teams who could also use a playmaker on the outside, like the Raiders. Beckham is from New Orleans and went to LSU for college, so there’s a personal connection there, but the Saints just lost starting quarterback Jameis Winston for the season and will likely be rolling with backups for the rest of the way. So, if he’s going after a ring, Las Vegas or Baltimore would be a better option.

ESPN’s Jordan Schultz tweeted the other day that the Raiders and Saints are interested in Beckham, but there has been no word if the Ravens are. In other words, the chances are pretty high that OBJ will don the Silver and Black in the near future.

Only time will tell if Beckham does indeed become a Raider, and step one is the Browns releasing him. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Jackson is available if Mike Mayock and company get impatient waiting on Cleveland to move, there is at least one other option available.

In other Raiders’ news:

• Mark Davis says Raiders won’t abandon Ruggs: “It’s devastating,” Davis said, fighting back tears in his first public comments since the tragedy. “Obviously a loss of life … it’s just a tragedy...We released Henry Ruggs the football player. Henry Ruggs is still a human being and Raider alumni and somebody that we want to help. We’ll be there for him,” via Las Vegas Review-Journal.
• Crosby, Hayward, Hobbs & Cole named 1st team All-Pros by PFF: the site released its midseason All-Pro teams and Carr made the second-team
• Raiders/Giants preview: tune into our Behind Enemy Lines Podcast to get the low down on the G-men head of the game.
• Stoner to the 53-man roster: the Raiders activated the undrafted free agent wide receiver from the practice squad.