The Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes will heat up this fall.
Plenty of offenses could use a late-season jolt like the one OBJ provided the Los Angeles Rams last year. His suitors may include the New England Patriots.
“New England is worth watching because I’m told it heavily evaluated Beckham’s market early in free agency in March,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported.
Beckham is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the Super Bowl. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said the 29-year-old is targeting a mid-November return and is likely to sign after the Nov. 1 trade deadline.
This isn’t the first time a rumor has linked Beckham and the Patriots, so fans are dubious that he’ll pick them.
Beckham said in February that he considered joining the Patriots before instead signing with the Rams. The interest was reportedly “very real,” but he opted to play for a better offense with a more polished quarterback.
That same thought process could lead OBJ to spur the Patriots again. An AFC executive told Fowler that Beckham is likely to team up with a top quarterback. Even a healthy Mac Jones might not fit that bill yet.
The most sensible choice may be Beckham returning to the Rams, who haven’t gotten much production from free-agent signing Allen Robinson. Although both teams are 2-3, the Rams are better suited for another playoff run than the Pats.