Odell Beckham Jr. Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Saints won’t make claim on Odell Beckham Jr.

Originally posted on Pro Football Rumors
By Zachary Links | Last updated 11/8/21

The Saints won’t put a claim in for Odell Beckham Jr. Monday according to head coach Sean Payton, via Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Advocate. The Saints could still pursue the wide receiver if he goes unclaimed, but Payton says there’s no possible way for the team to free up the necessary cap space for his current contract.

“The claiming deadline is today. No, it’s impossible for us to put a claim in on the player,” Payton said. “You just have to look at the salary cap space. And if we were going to put in a claim, it wouldn’t be something we discuss. I know it makes hit-worthy news.”

Beckham is hoping to join up with the Saints, Seahawks, or 49ers — the latter two teams are at least in the top half of the priority order. Still, they might prefer to wait things out and sign Beckham for less.

The 49ers are projected to have just $4M in space, so they’d have to clear space in a hurry, just like the Saints. The Seahawks do have enough room to take on OBJ’s remaining $7M in salary — they’re currently $13M below the max.

OBJ has also been connected to the Raiders, but they’ve since signed DeSean Jackson. High-priority teams like the Jaguars and WFT could also consider Beckham, but the WR wouldn’t be too jazzed about it.

This article first appeared on Pro Football Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: