© Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
It’s rare that an NFL front office considers trading its best player because his behavior becomes too intolerable to handle.
That’s where the New York Giants find themselves, however, with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. During his recent stay in Paris, a video was released depicting Beckham lying on a bed, eating a pepperoni pizza, with some suspicious substance beside him.
The star wide receiver’s most recent incident continues his detailed past of distracting behavior. Beckham’s controversial touchdown celebrations, sideline meltdowns, and midseason partying have made headlines throughout his four NFL seasons.
His antics have seemingly taken a toll on Giants co-owner John Mara.
“I guess my response to (the recent video) is that is I’m tired of answering questions about Odell’s behavior,” Mara told reporters at this year’s NFL owners meeting. “He knows what’s expected of him, and now it’s up to him.”
On Tuesday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Giants are fielding trade offers for Beckham. The Giants haven’t stated whether they actually want to trade Beckham, but they appear interested in entertaining the thought.
With the potential to add another marquee signing, should the 49ers pursue Beckham?
It’s easy to see why the All-Pro receiver could be a good fit with San Francisco. The 49ers are devoid of a Pro Bowl receiver, have the most cap space in the NFC, and recently secured quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a five-year deal. Adding Beckham would help offset division rival Los Angeles Rams’ free agent additions that include Pro Bowl cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters.
But none of the aforementioned reasons begin to tell Beckham’s full story, including why he has suddenly become subject to trades during his prime. The 49ers should stay put with their currently constructed roster.
They didn’t budge on the wide receiver free agent market for a reason. San Francisco extended Marquise Goodwin, who produced career highs in catches (56) and yards (942) last year, to a three-deal earlier this month. Head coach Kyle Shanahan seemingly feels comfortable with his current corps that include Goodwin, Pierre Garcon, Trent Taylor, Aldrick Robinson, and Kendrick Bourne.
Shanahan helped Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones achieve all-worldly numbers in 2016, when he produced 136 catches for 1,871 yards. But Shanahan feels his offense can produce without a receiver of Jones’ quality.
“You definitely don’t need that,” Shanahan recently told NBC Bay Area. “If you ever have it, then keep it. It’s very fun to have and it’ll help you a ton. But that’s not something you need.”
The 49ers receiving corps meshed with Garoppolo throughout the final five games of the 2017 season, all of which resulted in wins. In those contests, San Francisco ranked third in the NFL with 297 passing yards per game and first with 8.44 passing yards per attempt.
That production came without Garcon, who missed the final eight games with a neck injury. Garoppolo, a recent transplant from New England, barely knew the system and still found a way to dominate. With an offseason to prepare, a revamped offensive line, and healthy receiving corps, the 49ers offense projects well entering the 2018 season.
Acquiring Beckham would also come at a steep price. Beckham reportedly wants to sign the richest contract of any non-quarterback in NFL history. Only 16 players, all of which are quarterbacks, make the annual $20 million that Beckham covets.
49ers contract specialist Paraag Marathe has maneuvered his way to team-friendly deals this offseason, particularly in Richard Sherman’s highly incentivized four-year contract. It’ll be nearly impossible to acquire Beckham for a bargain. The 49ers would likely have to trade their No. 9 overall pick with either additional late round selections or current players.
“I would love to win now and you do everything you can to win now, but you never do it at the expense of the future,” Shanahan told NBC Bay Area. “I’ve been in this league a long time, and I think we’ve all waited a long time to have an opportunity like this. This isn’t something you go in recklessly and just try to make yourself look good right away. You try to make good decisions.”
The 49ers will likely store their $47.4 million in cap space to retain defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and other promising pieces in the 2019 offseason.
Ultimately, the fact that Beckham has become subjected to trade talks infers that his ongoing antics outweigh the fruit of his production. Acquiring Beckham isn’t worth the risk.
All data and graphs in this piece were provided by Looker. Looker helps bring better insights and data-driven decisions to every business. To learn more about their product and platform, click here.
Brad Almquist is KNBR’s 49ers beat writer. Follow Brad on Twitter @bquist13
