Insider reveals why Odell Beckham Jr. didn't play during 2022 season

NFL national insider Jeff Howe of The Athletic has offered more information about why star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. didn't sign with any club last season. 

"He decided against signing with a team in order to ensure he is fully recovered from ACL surgery, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation," Howe said about Beckham's recovery from the torn ACL the 30-year-old suffered during Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. 

Beckham completed visits with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Buffalo Bills during the campaign's second half but never put pen to paper on a deal. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones suggested ahead of Super Bowl LVII that it was team officials who decided Beckham "wasn't ready to play" coming off his latest injury. 

"Beckham still wasn’t close enough to 100 percent for the stretch run of the season, so he opted to focus all of his attention on his rehabilitation program," Howe wrote. 

Howe added that Beckham "could conceivably be the top wideout in free agency" and "is the most accomplished" among the receivers about to hit the open market. Gregg Rosenthal of the NFL's website has listed Beckham as the No. 1 wide receiver in free agency, and ESPN's Matt Bowen said the three-time Pro Bowl selection "can still make an impact as a No. 2 receiver" in a piece published on Feb. 15. 

"Based on what I saw on that tape, Beckham has lost some of the explosion that made him one of the NFL's most dynamic players a few years ago," Bowen noted. "Still, there's detail to his route running; he can create immediate separation at the line of scrimmage." 

Jones insisted earlier this winter the Cowboys "absolutely" plan to revisit landing Beckham this offseason. Beckham's camp may want to wait until other receivers sign in free agency to see if the market can help increase OBJ's asking price.