The Odell Beckham Jr. era has officially ended in Cleveland.
The Browns formally released the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver on Monday after announcing Friday they would grant him the exit from Cleveland he wanted. The two sides finalized the terms of his release Saturday.
All eyes will be on where Beckham ends up in the coming days.
Beckham can be claimed off waivers at 4 p.m. Tuesday. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he'll become a free agent. That is widely considered the likeliest outcome.
USA Today's Mike Jones reported Sunday the Seattle Seahawks have shown strong interest in Beckham. On NBC's "Football Night in America," Mike Florio said Sunday the Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints are teams to watch for Beckham, with OBJ preferring the Seahawks.
Any of those landing spots would be ideal for the Browns because those teams are in the NFC and not on Cleveland's schedule this season.
The Browns improved to 5-4 with Sunday's 41-16 AFC North road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Seahawks and Niners are each 3-5. The Saints are 5-3.
Beckham had requested a trade from the Browns multiple times this past offseason and again after he had one catch on just one official target for 6 yards Oct. 31 in a 15-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a league source confirmed, but the Browns couldn't find a viable market for him because of his salary.
The NFL trade deadline passed at 4 p.m. Nov. 2 without the Browns dealing OBJ.
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry and Beckham's representatives reworked his contract last week to reach a settlement. Beckham had been under contract through the 2023 season. He had been due $8 million guaranteed, the amount remaining this season of the $15.75 million he had been scheduled to make in 2021.
A source confirmed this is how the settlement between the Browns and Beckham will work:
If a team were to claim Beckham off waivers Tuesday, it would owe him $7.25 million this year, and he'd be scheduled to become a free agent in March.
If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed Tuesday, the Browns would owe him $4.25 million, thereby saving $3 million. Then OBJ would be free to sign with any team.
As part of the new deal, Beckham agreed to not seek termination pay.
Because a team would owe Beckham $7.25 million for the final half of this season if it claimed him off waivers, he will likely go unclaimed and be able to choose his next franchise beginning late Tuesday afternoon.
The Detroit Lions (0-8) have the top priority on the waiver wire because they own the worst record in the NFL this season, but coach Dan Campbell told Detroit reporters Monday the Lions won't be claiming Beckham. Former Browns GM John Dorsey is a senior personnel executive for the Lions.
Beckham, 29, joined the Browns amid gargantuan expectations in March 2019, when Dorsey acquired OBJ in a trade with the New York Giants.
With injuries and a lack of chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield playing a part, Beckham never lived up to the hype in Cleveland.
Beckham started 28 of the 29 games in which he appeared with the Browns and compiled 114 catches on 210 targets for 1,586 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with eight carries for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Now Beckham will have a chance to revive his career with another team.
