PFT: A ‘sense persists’ the 49ers will pursue Odell Beckham Jr.

The chatter is only going to pick up the next two weeks.

The NFL Combine gets started a week from Tuesday, and it is safe to say there will be plenty of trade chatter. Antonio Brown wants out of Pittsburgh, and Odell Beckham Jr. is rumored to be on the outs in New York. When two of the best receivers in the game are on the market, there is going to be chatter.

Pro Football Talk is offering the latest speculation about OBJ. At the turn of the new year, they reported there was buzz the San Francisco 49ers would be interested if the Giants made him available. Things quieted down amidst all the Brown hubbub, and then last week, NFL reporter Jay Glazer predicted OBJ was going to be traded this offseason. He did not say to whom and he simply predicted rather than reported, but it got tongues wagging.

This evening, PFT reported that a “sense persists” the 49ers will try and make a run at OBJ. They say the No. 2 overall pick for OBJ might be too high, but maybe they would send it if the Giants sent back a third or fourth round pick. It is worth noting PFT also suggests the Rams might decide another big splash is needed, but does not offer up any sort of persisting sense.

The wording of the report offers a chance for our own speculation as to the sourcing. It does not say league sources or sources close to the situation, or anything to offer specifics on a source. It simply says a “sense persists.” We could look at several possibilities for who wants this information out there:

• Giants: If New York is interested in dealing OBJ, this could be the team’s way of getting word out as to what it might take for the 49ers (or another team) to make a deal happen.
• OBJ’s agent: He wants to stir up some interest in getting a deal done, so he suggests the 49ers
• 49ers: The least likely scenario in mind. I’d think they could just ask the Giants if that kind of deal would work, but this could be an attempt to get New York making the call

If the Giants decide to trade Beckham, they would carry $16 million in dead money this year and save $5 million in cap space. Any deal would almost assuredly happen before the 2019 NFL Draft, and likely at the beginning of the league year, so post-June 1 money is not a factor. It’s a big hit for the Giants, but if they can get a quality draft pick out of this, they might decide it’s worth it.

So what do you think? Could we see a deal go down? If you don’t see a poll, click here.

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