Odell Beckham Jr trade from the Cleveland Browns is not inevitable

The Odell Beckham Jr trade rumors have been in full force this offseason.

Last week, it appeared the ongoing Odell Beckham Jr trade rumors were officially over after the former LSU standout was included in the Cleveland Browns new uniform reveal.

Of course, rumors rarely die that that easy.

Beckham’s name continued to surface in trade rumors after the reveal, with the most popular rumor being that the Browns were going to trade the star wide receiver to the Minnesota Vikings.

Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePosta told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the reports of a potential OBJ to Minnesota deal were “completely false”.

But that still didn’t quell the rumors.

Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman reported on Saturday that sources told him it’s “only a matter of time” before the Browns trade Beckham. According to Freeman, those sources don’t believe Beckham is a good fit with Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield.

However, Schefter reported on Sunday morning that Cleveland hasn’t had any trade discussions centering around Beckham during the offseason.

It sounds like there’s probably been some discussions within the Browns’ front office on trading Beckham. But it doesn’t sound like those discussions have progressed to the point of entertaining trade proposals.

And that’s understandable. Beckham is one of the most dynamic players in the NFL. He obviously wasn’t a good fit with previous Cleveland head coach Freddie Kitchens. But with a new head coach in the picture, perhaps Beckham has a better season in 2020 than he had in 2019.

Beckham had the least productive season of his career in 2019 (aside from his injury shortened 2017 season) with Mayfield, catching 74 passes for 1,035 yards.

Mayfield attributed Beckham’s struggles to a sports hernia injury that “wasn’t handled the right way” in Cleveland’s training room.

If Beckham is healthy in 2020, and the offense has better chemistry under new head coach Kevin Stefanski, then maybe this story will have a happy ending.

But until that happens, the OBJ trade rumors will likely persist.