Packers: Odell Beckham Jr. could be a pipe dream for Green Bay

People and ‘reports’ have linked the Green Bay Packers to Odell Beckham Jr. for years now. Going back to when he was still on the New York Giants and trade rumors swirled, the Packers always seemed to be one of the teams that were being mentioned.

Of course, the Packers didn’t end up getting OBJ after the Cleveland Browns sent a first-round pick and a starting safety to the Giants for the star receiver. Now, after a few years in Cleveland with a deteriorating relationship there (again), OBJ was the subject of a lot of trade talk. And, again, the Packers were a team that is brought up that should be and possibly is interested in his services.

Packers Twitter goes wild with the speculation, demanding that Brian Gutekunst trades for OBJ, regardless of the cap implications, which would have made that trade basically impossible unless they sent out a player with higher compensation.

So naturally, as these things typically go with the Packers, nothing happened. In fact, nothing happened with any team. Without a trade partner, the Browns eventually had to bite the bullet, restructure his contract to save some money, and release him to waivers.

Now Packers fans are all about OBJ to GB again, but then again, so are some of the players.

This is where things are going to get interesting. Depending on how his contract restructuring looks, there are going to be plenty of teams that can put a claim in for him. Are the Packers one of them? Maybe. If he isn’t making the minimum, it could still be hard for the Packers to take him on.

But let’s say he would be making the minimum, or that they can or are even willing to move some money around to get OBJ to Green Bay. Will they still be able to get him? Right now, Green Bay is 28th in the waiver priority, according to Spotrac. Sure, they can put a claim in for him, but the 27 teams ahead of them are all going to have to pass on OBJ.

It’s tough to believe that there isn’t a team out there that is hurting for a receiver and trying to make a run in their division that won’t take OBJ for half a season with almost nothing to lose financially. Even if he truly is a locker room cancer, teams are going to risk it if that means they have a better shot at winning.

Teams like the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots are other teams that could possibly show interest in OBJ. Both of those three teams are ahead of Green Bay. Currently, the only teams the Packers would get priority over would be the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, and Baltimore Ravens.

If the Packers could get OBJ to Green Bay on a minimum contract as a rental player for the year, they should be all in. Unfortunately, I think a lot of other teams who are ahead of the Packers would be too. It’s exciting to think about, but OBJ to GB might be a pipe dream.