Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t working out for teams as part of his free agent visits.
That’s a little surprising considering the injury he’s coming off of, but teams haven’t seemed that uncomfortable with just looking at his medical records.
So, are the Dallas Cowboys confident enough to sign Beckham without seeing him work out?
"Well, I’m not confident, at all. So, that’s the issue," Jones started in his weekly appearance on "Shan and RJ." "Now, we all realize that issue of health, that issue of availability, is here every time. Just this one is very obvious and very pointed towards his injury that occurred last year in the Super Bowl. So, we’ve got a good beat on that, we’ve got a great read on his career.
“It’s not like a draft pick coming at you, we’ve got a lot of history here and you take a good look at everything. Not only the obvious, and that’s his performance, but also any issues regarding health. So, all of this, we’ve got to come in with our eyes wide open and it has to be addressed and that’s when you see if you can make a deal or not.”
Basically, it sounds like the Cowboys are taking the stance that if the medicals look good, there's a demonstrated enough track record for Beckham as a player to count on him being productive.
Beckham’s circumstance is unique. It’s not often that a player of his caliber becomes available at this point in the season, especially with the trade deadline passed. That naturally will create a robust market for him.
But while multiple factors in this process have been a little different, Beckham wouldn’t be the first player Jones has signed a player coming off an injury without working him out.
That hasn't always gone so well.
"Oh yes, I sure have (done that)," Jones said. "The classic for me is Alonzo Highsmith, and that was in about my second year. Alonzo Highsmith was so highly thought of, particularly by our young coaching staff, and I had – still have them – I had three letters handed to me by three different doctors that said 'Jerry, it’s just bone on bone. He can’t play, this won’t work.' I went ahead and signed him, we had those Herschel Walker draft picks and felt we had plenty of picks at the time, and we made that trade. He never touched the field.”
Beckham met with the Cowboys on Monday, and certainly, a big part of that was what Jones called the “huge consideration” of looking over medicals.
Sometimes, what the medicals are saying and what the player is saying about his health don’t fully align. Asked if he would share how Beckham seems to feel about his health, Jones declined to go into specifics.
However, he did nod at the fact that Beckham has already rehabbed an ACL injury, which he sustained in 2020, and that when he returned in 2021 he helped contribute to a Super Bowl run.
“I’ll tell you this, the fact that he rehabbed last year and came back and played in the Super Bowl shows you serious mental toughness, and it shows you current or recent playing coming off of surgery," Jones said. "You’ve got to overcome natural, mental feelings when you overcome playing after surgery. It’s not just the technical repair, it’s the ability to mentally come through. The fact that he’s recently done that our trainers tell us is a plus.”
Beckham already met with the Giants and Bills, and is expected to make a decision soon.
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