Odell Beckham Jr. remains unsigned on the free-agent market as he recovers from a torn ACL he suffered during Super Bowl 56. It marked the second ACL tear of his NFL career and left many questioning the 29-year-old's future.
While Beckham's status is currently being affected by his injury, it may have actually helped him in the long run. Why? As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport detailed on The Pat McAfee Show, the surgery that Beckham had to repair his latest torn ACL "corrected a bad surgery" he had on the same knee a couple of years ago.
"In a weird way, there's a little bit of relief from everyone because now it can get fixed right," Rapoport said of Beckham's injured knee.
This past surgery went really well, and he probably is going to have extended his career just because of his recent surgery.
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Beckham suffered his first ACL tear with the Browns in 2020. He did so while trying to tackle then-Bengals cornerback Darius Phillips after an interception. He underwent surgery shortly thereafter and was expected to return fully healthy in 2021.
However, as Rapoport reports, Beckham's surgery didn't go particularly well. It left him with lingering complications that lengthened his rehab.
More on Odell Beckham’s first ACL surgery in 2020: The procedure, which was performed by a non-team affiliated doc, led to a rehab that took longer than expected while Beckham was training in AZ. Some wondered if he wasn’t working hard enough. Turns out, just not a great surgery. https://t.co/6g7iLd4laa
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 13, 2022
It's unclear if the issues impacted Beckham on the field. However, the problem was set to impact him off it, as Rapoport reports Beckham's surgically-repaired knee was concerning enough that the Rams didn't want to sign him to a long-term deal.
"So before the Rams signed Odell Beckham this past season, the knee was a concern because it was not 100 percent healthy," Rapoport told McAfee. "I don't believe they would have given them a long-term deal just based on the knee because it was troubling."
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The Rams aren't likely to give Beckham a long-term deal right now, either, as he recovers from his latest surgery. But he won't turn 30 until November and may be able to land one more lucrative, long-term deal with his recent knee surgery going better than his first.
Of course, that will be contingent upon Beckham returning to the field and playing well. He isn't likely to play again until November at the earliest.
Still, a receiver-needy team could sign Beckham to a short-term deal given his solid production in Los Angeles. He had 48 catches, 593 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games with the team including the postseason.
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Could that team be the Rams? They are rumored to have a "mutual interest" in Beckham.
"They know more about his knee than everyone else," Rapoport said. "Their team doctor did the surgery."
