Although the Cleveland Browns can’t pay receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to stay home, the Browns have one thing they can do, if they’re willing to keep OBJ around.
They can welcome him back to the facility, to meetings, and to practices -- and they can choose to deactivate him every week.
There’s nothing Beckham or the NFL Players Association could do about that. In every game, every team deactivates multiple members of the active roster. It can be Beckham for each of the next nine games.
That’s likely what the Browns are negotiating with Beckham’s representation. If he reduces his remaining salary, he gets the release he wants. Otherwise, they pay him, they let him be part of the team, and they never play him. And if he acts out, they can eventually suspend him without pay.
Beyond getting the chance to play this season with a different team, Beckham also would have a chance to put together the kind of performance that would make him a coveted free agent in March. If he doesn’t play through the end of the current season, he’ll be far less likely to get a big contract next year.
And so the question is whether a deal can be reached. The more Beckham wants to get out, the less money he’ll take from the Browns as a parting gift.
That said, the Browns don’t need the potential distraction that comes from having Beckham on the team but not really on the team. Thus, the Browns derive a benefit if they can keep Beckham from ever coming back.
