San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined KNBR this morning. The question on a lot of minds is if his team plans to pursue Odell Beckham Jr. The Cleveland Browns are releasing the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, and he will enter the waiver wire because the transaction occurred after the trade deadline.
San Francisco is No. 12 in the waiver wire order. Could Lynch and his team put in a claim?
"Well, what I can assure you is that we're always trying to make ourselves better," Lynch said on the Murph & Mac show, "and we feel like if we have an opportunity to do that, we will. And so, I'll leave it at that, for strategic reasons and all those things, but we will always try to improve ourselves when we can and when it makes sense. And so, that's no different in this case, and on any player."
For strategic reasons? Does that mean the 49ers are interested, and fans might hear some news tomorrow?
"Next question," Lynch responded while laughing.
Update: ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Beckham will be placed on waivers on Monday and claimed on Tuesday. However, any interested team would inherit his $7.25 million salary for the remainder of the season. OverTheCap.com currently lists the 49ers with $3.47 million in salary-cap space.
Divorce officially official: After days of negotiations, the Browns and Odell Beckham Jr. finally reached a settlement that will result in him being placed on waivers Monday, after which he can be claimed Tuesday at 4 pm, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2021
Additionally, any team that claims Odell Beckham Jr. would inherit $7.25 million of salary for the remainder of the season, per sources. The cost is considered high for a player that now will be considered a rental with this being the last year of his contract.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2021
The 49ers expressed interest in Beckham in 2019 but could not agree with the New York Giants on the compensation for the receiver. New York ended up trading Beckham to the Browns.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
