THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Odell Beckham Jr. was all smiles when he arrived in Los Angeles Thursday. More than 24 hours since then, that's still the case.
What has been the city where he typically trains in the offseason is now his new NFL home.
"Feeling good, man," Beckham said after Saturday's practice. "Sunshine. Smiles. I feel blessed to be here."
It was a decision Beckham did not take lightly, nor rush to to make. Looking at the Rams, though, there was a lot to like.
There's multiple familiar faces on this roster, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and outside linebacker Von Miller. Stafford was his teammate in the 2015 Pro Bowl, and he's been connected with Ramsey since Ramsey's junior year of college. Ramsey and Miller both had a hand in convincing him to sign with the Rams.
"This is a tremendous team, 7-2," Beckham said. "(I) have a great opportunity to do some great things and I just wanted to be a part of it."
The creativity of the Rams' offense also stood out.
"You sit back and you see that these guys are just, they flow. It just feels right about the offense here," Beckham said. "Right now, there's so much going on that it's hard to look from the outside or the inside right now. I'm just trying to keep my eyes straight ahead of me and stay focused. But I hope to be able to find a groove, like I say, and be able to help this team find a way to win."
That groove will have to be discovered sooner than expected after new teammate Robert Woods suffered a season-ending knee injury in Friday's practice. Beckham said he "had no words for it" and that it was "disheartening" receiving that news.
"Everything felt right about coming here, except that moment," Beckham said. "This is a guy who called me on the phone on FaceTime, and we shared words and just how excited we were to work together, and for me to be able to learn from him. I have no words for it. It was like disheartening when I got the call. I don't have many words for it. I know that he was the heart and soul of this team and just kind of trying to do whatever I can to help. Those are big shoes to fill but do whatever I can to help him. My heart goes out to him."
Saturday marked Beckham's first practice with the team, and Beckham looked as advertised, according to wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
"He looks really good," Kupp said. "He wants to learn. Obviously there's a lot of stuff to learn in this offense, but he looks like Odell. He looks like he can separate, can catch the ball. Looks like a great athlete, great receiver. Excited to be out there with him."
Even before Woods' injury, the goal was to get Beckham up to speed as quickly as possible. This is the first time he's joined a new team mid-season, so the acclimation process is a little bit different. He said that right now he's "just taking it minute by minute, hour by hour."
His status for Monday Night Football against the 49ers is still to be determined, but he's trying to learn the playbook as fast as possible.
"There's a chance. We're going to see," Rams head coach Sean McVay said prior to Saturday's practice. "You can see he's a really sharp guy. We haven't practiced yet today, but (I) like the look in his eye and we'll see how he's feeling, and we'll see what that looks like as far as how we are able to utilize him if he's able to go on Monday."
