Report: Seattle Seahawks Made “Strongest Offer” to Odell Beckham Jr.
The Seahawks made the “strongest” offer in the free agency to Rams recipient Odell Beckham Jr. last week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Saturday. According to Fowler, there was another interest from NFC West since the Cardinals also contacted Beckham’s camp.
It is particularly clear that Beckham’s signing of a one-year $ 1.25 million contract with Los Angeles was motivated for other reasons – not just financial reasons. As Fowler tweeted, the Rams added “strong incentives because they wanted the player, but they also had to make sure no other NFC West team got it.”
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport had that number at $ 3 million at the time of signing.
There are several other possible factors behind Beckham’s decision to decline moving to the Pacific Northwest. For example, sprawling, celebrity-crammed, sunny Los Angeles above cold and wet Seattle may have proven more attractive.
For narrative terms, the Seahawks are also viewed as a run-first, run-heavy team. Pete Carroll’s PR department has taken repeated blows and has certainly not been supported by certain off-season gimmicks.
With Russell Wilson as quarterback, this “run-run-run” mentality has not materialized in recent games. Prior to Wilson’s injury, Seattle’s pass-run splits tended toward the 60 percent mark in favor of the pass.
In addition, Wilson’s return against the Packers brought a neutral success rate of 67.5 percent and astonishingly high numbers with a success rate of 63 percent in the first down and a success rate of 77 percent in the second down. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron wants to pass.
Cold numbers aside, it’s clear that Beckham was heavily influenced by the perceived style of any pitching offense. In fact, ESPN’s Dianna Russini’s Rams source went so far as to mention the passing rate of the Los Angeles attack.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s MVP campaign is also highly relevant.
After all, the simplest and most likely motivation would be to look at the Rams’ win-loss record versus the Seahawks. At the time of Beckham’s signing, LA was sitting at 7-2 versus Seattle at 3-5.
Ultimately, Fowler’s report is a reminder that the Seahawks Front Office seeks to be involved in everything – a point Carroll always wants to emphasize when reporters at press conferences suggest a possible move.
“We explore the situation we have found ourselves in so many times when we have options and go as far as we can,” Carroll told reporters last Friday. “We did that. [general manager] John [Schneider] pulled it off and made sure we knew what was going on. “
The news that Seattle Beckham is making the strongest bid also affirms that a front office can do only a limited amount of time to convince a free agent to sign with their team.
“He [Odell] picked the place he wanted to go once he cleared the waivers and had the opportunity to do so, “Carroll summarized.
Gone are the days of Paul Allen being aggressively involved in recruiting and the Seahawks being one of the hottest and shiny places in the league.
Beckham caught two passes for 18 yards on his Rams debut. However, his passing chances are likely to increase following the end of season knee injury that Robert Woods sustained last week.
Seattle’s priority now is to get Wilson to play his best football as soon as possible (Wilsonly) to avoid repeating the catastrophic Packers shutout and strengthen the defense.