Odell Beckham Jr. certainly looked effective Sunday in the NFC divisional round, begging the question of whether the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have used him.
The Los Angeles Rams picked Beckham up in November after his release from the Cleveland Browns. The addition paid off Sunday, as Beckham caught six passes for 69 yards in the first three quarters against the Buccaneers.
Beckham was a free agent, so it was theoretically possible for the Buccaneers to pursue him. They never did, but the reason cited at the time looks pretty bad in retrospect. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk unearthed Arians’ quote about not chasing Beckham because of Antonio Brown’s presence.
Arians was being a bit flippant and unserious here, but that doesn’t make it any less awkward in retrospect. Brown, of course, is no longer with the Buccaneers after a late-season meltdown . To make matters worse, the Buccaneers also endured a season-ending injury to Chris Godwin, which thinned their receiver group significantly.
Ultimately, it’s easy to look back in hindsight and say that Tampa Bay should have at least tried for Beckham, but wide receiver didn’t look like a need at the time he was available. Arians’ quote still aged remarkably poorly.
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