San Francisco's general manager John Lynch did not exactly say no on KNBR when asked about possibly claiming Odell Beckham Jr. from the waivers or as a free agent.
“What I can assure you is we’re always trying to make ourselves better and if we have an opportunity to do so, we will. I’ll leave it at that for strategic reasons,” Lynch said, per the San Jose Mercury News's Cam Inman.
The wide receiver's representation and the Browns reached an agreement for the star's release on Thursday after a tumultuous week. Cleveland was looking to lower Beckham's base salary down to the minimum and convert the rest to a signing bonus to lower his cap number to try and save money in the process, per The MMQB's Albert Breer. If the franchise released Beckham during the offseason, the team would have saved $15 million.
Per a statement from Cleveland executive vice president and general manager Andrew Berry, "We appreciate all his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we've just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell. We are finalizing the process of granting Odell his release and we wish him well as he continues his career."
Beckham was excused from practice Wednesday and Thursday, and coach Kevin Stefanski reportedly told the team Wednesday that Beckham is “essentially not on the team right now," according to Michael Silver.
News broke late Thursday evening/early Friday morning that the wide receiver was reportedly not expected to be back in the building the rest of the week, according to ESPN's Kimberley A. Martin.
Earlier this week, Beckham Jr.'s father posted comments in an 11-minute video on social media about his son not being thrown the ball by Browns quarterbacks, primarily Baker Mayfield. The video was a screen recording of a YouTube video that goes week by week showing the Browns receiver being left open during a route.
Mayfield told reporters Wednesday that he would be open to talking things out and putting their differences aside, adding that an apology from Beckham would help improve the situation.
"[I]f he’s back, we’ll work through it," Mayfield said, according to Mary Kay Abbott of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I can put my ego and pride aside to win.”
The 49ers are currently 12th on the waiver order.
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