Odell Beckham Jr. shows up at NFL Owners' Meetings, but not expected to meet with Browns

PHOENIX — Odell Beckham Jr. showed up at the Arizona Biltmore Resort on Tuesday to meet with various NFL teams during the Owners Meetings. One of the first faces he ran into when he arrived was his former coach with the Browns, Kevin Stefanski

The free-agent wide receiver and the Browns coach shared a brief embrace as Beckham was arriving at the resort and Stefanski was preparing to depart. The moment was caught video by an NFL Network producer, who put it out on social media.

However, that embrace may be the extent of the contact between Beckham and the team he played with for two-plus seasons. After the recent acquisitions of receivers Elijah Moore and Marquise Goodwin, the Browns aren't expected to meet with him while in Arizona.

Beckham shared a brief exchange with another former boss when he spent a few moments with Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead while the two were in the outdoor bar and pool area of the resort. After that, he also greeted several media members from both Los Angeles and Cleveland.

Beckham's agent, Zeke Sandhu, when asked by Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot as they were walking back into the resort what they were doing at the meetings, answered, "We're just here to enjoy the sun."

The annual meetings, which began Sunday, for all intents and purposes end Tuesday. Many of the league's head coaches, executives and owners in attendance were departing the resort throughout the course of the day.

It was against that backdrop Beckham, who hasn't played since tearing his ACL in the Super Bowl two seasons ago, arrived looking for a team to call home for 2023. That includes two of his former teams, the New York Giants and Rams, the latter with whom he won a Super Bowl after being released by the Browns in November, 2021.

Beckham held a workout in Arizona back on March 10 for prospective teams, one of which was the Browns. The Panthers, Giants, Patriots, Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Bills, Chiefs, Vikings and Ravens also attended.

The Browns' interest at that time was described as doing "diligence" on a potential free-agent signing. However, since that workout, they have addressed the position by acquiring Moore in a trade with the New York Jets and signing the veteran free agent Goodwin.

Currently, the Browns have 14 receivers on their roster.

Beckham had 114 catches on 210 targets for 1,586 yards with seven touchdowns in 29 games with the Browns between the time he was acquired in a trade from the Giants in 2019 until he was released the first week of November, 2021. A torn ACL in 2020 shortened that season, then a feud with quarterback Baker Mayfield accelerated his departure from Cleveland.

In 96 career games with the Giants, Browns and Rams, Beckham has 531 catches for 7,367 yards and 56 TDs. He was selected to the Pro Bowl first three years in the league (2014-16).

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Odell Beckham Jr. arrives at Owners Meetings, but no Browns meeting