clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Chiefs lose out on Odell Beckham Jr. as he heads to Los Angeles

NFL: Denver Broncos at Cleveland Browns Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. won’t be joining the Kansas City Chiefs in their quest to appear in a third straight Super Bowl. Beckham has instead decided to join the Los Angeles Rams, per multiple reports on Thursday afternoon.

The Rams confirmed Beckham’s decision on their official Twitter account. ESPN’s Diana Russini chimed in with Los Angeles’ pitch to the wide receiver that ultimately got it done.

Russini’s source: “We came in a bit late — but we gave him best shot. Sold great QB. 65% pass. Single coverage.” Looks like OBJ couldn’t pass up opportunity to play with Stafford, pass first offense & the almost certain single cov that will come from playing along Kupp & Woods”

This part came off interesting considering how similar it sounds to what the Chiefs — who were confirmed as interested in Beckham — would have been able to offer. Kansas City also offers a great quarterback, a pass-first head coach — and given the presence of wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce — single-coverage situations.

Playing in the West Coast market likely played a role in his decision, but other reports stated that his other finalist was Green Bay. Why wasn’t Kansas City a finalist?


The other teams involved in the Beckham sweepstakes were reportedly the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints — and we saw several sportsbooks list the Baltimore Ravens as the favorites to land the receiver.

A positive here is that the player who defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo called the “ultimate game wrecker” is now out of the conference — more specifically, away from a surging team like New England.

The Chiefs aren’t scheduled to play the Rams in the regular season. If they see Beckham, it will be in February.

Arrowhead Pride Premiere

Sign up now for a 7-day free trial of Arrowhead Pride Premier, with exclusive updates from Pete Sweeney on the ground at Arrowhead, instant reactions after each game, and in-depth Chiefs analysis from film expert Jon Ledyard.