LOS ANGELES — Odell Beckham Jr. is in an altogether different, better place now, somewhere the ultra-talented wide receiver has never been before in his NFL career: the Super Bowl.
Odell Beckham Jr. prepares for Super Bowl, fatherhood
For the Los Angeles Rams’ timely late-season acquisition, it’s not only about football. With a pending contract negotiation around the corner, it is no secret Beckham would like to remain with the NFC West franchise after exploring his free-agency options.
Beckham Jr. is about to be a father of a baby boy with his partner, Lauren Woods, nearly at full term. Everything is going well for OBJ, who’s thoroughly enjoying his rejuvenated LA story. If only his son could wait to be born for one more day.
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“Now it’s like, that’s a lot of blessings all at one time,” Beckham said. “She said, ‘You focus on winning, I got this,’ but I want to be there. He’s just got to hold still for me.Â
“I’m going to have to make a call back to him. I’m going to need you to take it easy for another 36 hours at least and hope it’s received.”
Beckham is enjoying his career renaissance
So much has changed, in a good way, for Beckham, since his ugly divorce from the Cleveland Browns. He forced his way out of town after his relationship with quarterback Baker Mayfield disintegrated to the point where Beckham’s father posted a viral social media video that was a clear criticism of the former top overall pick. It showed plays where his son was open and not targeted or Mayfield threw an incompletion.
It’s been a journey for OBJ, who seems to be growing and acknowledging his own faults in the past. Beckham said he didn’t know his father had plans to make and release that video.
“A lot of things were out of my control,” he said. “By the time I woke up, the video was already posted — it just was unfortunate.”
Beckham has remained close friends with Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry. He emphasized he has nothing but love for the Browns, but he hasn’t spoken to Mayfield.
“Maybe one day that happens and those conversations happen, but everything just happened so fast, maybe it wasn’t the time or the place,” Beckham said. “People need time to heal, and then things can be closed.” In the Rams’ locker room, Beckham has found a fit. He can be himself.
“I’ve been more comfortable being myself and being able to be here and just play football and eliminate the rest. I know there was a lot about, ‘Oh, he’s going to LA.’ I’m in a different place. We all go through things in life,” Beckham said. “We grow, we mature, we learn from our experiences, and we keep it going.”
OBJ is a key part of the Rams’ Super Bowl run
Beckham, 29, caught 9 passes for 113 yards in the NFC Championship Game win over the San Francisco 49ers. As the replacement for an injured Robert Woods, Beckham has been a complementary weapon to featured wide receiver Cooper Kupp. “Everything here is done right,” Beckham said.
Will he return to Los Angeles in 2022?
Beckham is open to returning to the Rams, even if it isn’t as lucrative as competing offers. He considered the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and New England Patriots before joining the Rams.
“I was close, very close,” Beckham said of the Saints. “It just didn’t feel like the right time. Right place. Wrong time.”
He thought long and hard about playing for Bill Belichick, but it just isn’t the same without Tom Brady. It all paid off, though. Now, Beckham is in the Super Bowl and hoping to earn a ring.
“All of the things, all of the signs, when it got quiet, it’s just something about this place that called,” Beckham said. “Aside from Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, it just felt right in my heart, and it felt right in my gut. It felt like other things I was trying to make work, and this was the one that was calling me.”
The past is where it belongs: in the past
Beckham is looking forward, eyeing the end zone and all that comes with scoring more touchdowns, catching more passes, blocking downfield, being a better teammate in Los Angeles than he was in Cleveland and New York. It’s all come full circle for the former LSU star.
“You definitely feel free when you erase, eliminate all of that,” Beckham said. “You just realize you were carrying, you know, other people’s problems. You know, things that they may need to work on with themselves, like, you’re carrying all that energy. And it just was weighing me down.Â
“I feel like it could have been the reason why I got injured, you know, time after time at the time. Because I, you know, there was a part of me that wanted to prove people wrong more than I just wanted to be myself and prove myself right. So I definitely feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. Less energy I’m carrying.”
