More from Miller on OBJ “… you should go around and see the league and like get the love. He’s still on Super Bowl tour.”
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) October 5, 2022
Well that’s interesting. Von Miller won a Super Bowl championship with Odell Beckham Jr. when they teamed up on the Los Angeles Rams last year, and the pair of NFL superstars remain very close — Miller told ESPN’s Buffalo Bills reporter Alaina Getzenberg that they talk “probably every week” about the wide receiver’s recovery from a torn ACL in that same title game, as well as his plans for the next step in his pro career.
And while Miller has been actively recruiting Beckham to join him in Buffalo, the New Orleans native has taken his time, and doesn’t appear to be ready to make a decision on where he’ll sign anytime soon. Beckham recently caught up with some old friends at the New York Giants facility, though it wasn’t an official free agent visit with the team itself — and Miller says Beckham will be making more trips like this, including with the New Orleans Saints.
Miller told Getzenberg that Beckham “is going on tour now. He’s going to Giants practice facility, and the Saints, Tampa, and all that stuff, which you should … you should go around and see the league and like get the love. He’s still on Super Bowl tour.”
So right now Beckham isn’t doing anything more substantial than trading handshakes, sharing stories, and showing off his championship ring; all things we saw from him when he attended the Saints’ home opener with the Buccaneers a few weeks ago. He isn’t running routes in front of coaches and scouts or negotiating contracts with his agent and front office executives. Beckham’s recovery timeline doesn’t have him ready to play full-contact football again until late October or even November (maybe not even until Thanksgiving), so he’s in no rush to sign anywhere. Not with the Giants, the Saints, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, among any other interested suitors.
That’s not to say he won’t hear out an offer from his hometown team when the time comes. Beckham said last year that New Orleans was the “right place, wrong time” to sign after being released by the Cleveland Browns at midseason, and his decision to go to L.A. helped him win it all. Maybe he feels differently about the Saints if they can start winning games and get steadier quarterback play — hopefully from a healthier Jameis Winston.
The receivers haven’t been an issue for the New Orleans offense (if anything, Jarvis Landry has been criminally underused since Week 1) but Beckham would offer more on the depth chart behind Michael Thomas (once he, too, has healed up), Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite Chris Olave, and Landry than the likes of Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, and Deonte Harty. It’s nothing to get excited about now, but it is something to watch out for in the weeks ahead.