Honestly, this one sounded less credible than all of the Tom Brady to San Francisco 49ers talk. Still, for some reason, the chatter was out there. Rumors have recently surfaced that the Cleveland Browns might be willing to trade wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. So, of course, speculation started to run rampant on whether or not Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, and company might try to acquire the three-time Pro Bowler.
It is worth noting that the 49ers did try to acquire Beckham from the New York Giants last year. Despite what the team felt was a strong offer, the Giants opted to ship the receiver to Cleveland.
"I think, ironically, the fact that we had the No. 2 pick made it more difficult because they wanted that badly," Lynch said last year of the failed deal. "They wanted two No. 1s, and we weren't willing to part with that. It was too valuable of a pick, even for a player of his magnitude. So we tried to come up with creative, different ways to get it done, and it didn't work out. So you move on."
Jay Glazer put together a mailbag Q & A for The Athletic and was asked by one fan if there was any truth to the Beckham-to-49ers rumors, which I'm not sure even made it far enough to be classified as a "rumor." There weren't any actual reports linking the player to San Francisco.
"Nope. No truth to that," Glazer responded. "Sorry, gang. I know the 49ers loved him but they are trying to rebuild draft capital, not give up draft capital."
It's also worth noting that Beckham's hefty salary is set to count over $14.2 million against the salary cap in 2020, and next month's draft is filled with younger and less-expensive talent at the position.
San Francisco currently owns two first-round draft picks — No. 13 and No. 31 overall.
Beckham hauled in 74 receptions for 1,035 yards with four touchdowns through 16 games with the Browns last season. It was his fifth season of 1,000-or-more yards. The receiver underwent core-muscle surgery on January 21 after battling with a sports hernia throughout the season.
H/t to NFL Draft Diamonds for the find.