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Report says there's nothing to wild trade rumor of Odell Beckham Jr. going from Browns to Vikings
Given the lack of any sporting events on the calendar, it doesn’t take much for a trade rumor to get a life of its own.
That’s how we got a couple hours of hysteria over a Cleveland Browns-Minnesota Vikings trade rumor involving star receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
In short, it’s not happening, according to longtime Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Received a one-word answer from a source close to the #Vikings about the report they're talking to the #Browns about trading for Odell Beckham Jr. for a 2nd & 5th next year: "False"
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 15, 2020
But hey, it was fun to think about for a little while.
How the Odell Beckham rumor got started
Here’s how the hullaballoo started. Marc Malusis, a radio host on WFAN 660, tweeted that sources told him of the trade discussions. He said the Vikings would be trading a second- and fifth-round pick to Cleveland.
It seemed odd that a New York radio host would be the one to break the story of an enormous trade between the Browns and Vikings. Still, it became a thing.
So, as I reported this morning on @MandMWFAN, Source has told me that the Browns and Vikings are in discussions on a trade that would send @obj to the Vikings for a 2nd and 5th round pick next year. Trade is not done, but the deal is being discussed.
— Moose™ (@MarcMalusis) April 15, 2020
That led to a few NFL reporters denying the validity of the report, the strongest coming from Cabot. But it didn’t stop a lot of speculation and debate before it was debunked. Go search “Odell Beckham Vikings” on Twitter if you wish.
But unless the Browns are doing this in extreme secret (and the Vikings have figured out how to clear out a good amount of cap space), Vikings fans can quit dreaming about replacing Stefon Diggs with Beckham.
Beckham’s first Browns season didn’t go well
The reason the trade rumor seemed a little believable — aside from the Houston Texans actually giving away All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade earlier this offseason, which means any trade after that can’t be too impossible — was that Beckham’s first season with Cleveland wasn’t great. It didn’t help that Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer was touting some “big, big news” on Tuesday night that he planned to reveal on Wednesday.
Playing through injury, Beckham put up 1,035 yards and four touchdowns. That’s not what the Browns were signing up for when they traded for Beckham from the New York Giants. Still, Cleveland isn’t better off without Beckham, and they wouldn’t replace him with second- and fifth-round picks.
The Vikings weren’t really in a cap position to trade for Beckham anyway. According to OverTheCap.com, the Vikings had a little less than $12.3 million in effective cap space and a lot of that will go to their draft class.
Re: the OBJ rumors buzzing around Vikings Twitter this morning:
Vikings have $12.26 million in cap space; Beckham has a $14.25 million cap number.
For purely financial reasons, it'd take another move (like Anthony Harris) for this to even be feasible.— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingStrib) April 15, 2020
it doesn’t seem entirely out of the question the Browns could at least entertain some calls for Beckham. But Wednesday’s rumored trade reportedly won’t be happening.
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