Getty Odell Beckham Jr.
T
he New England Patriots have already brought in a top wide receiver but they might not be done yet.
Though the Patriots already had wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers, New England made a trade this offseason to acquire DeVante Parker, who will be Mac Jones’ new No. 1 receiver.
The Patriots also addressed the position at the draft. In the second round, New England selected speedy wide receiver Tyquan Thornton out of Baylor.
CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani thinks that the Patriots aren’t done improving at the position, writing that New England is the best fit for Odell Beckham Jr.
“This past weekend, Beckham tried to trick the whole NFL world by lying and saying Deebo Samuel had been traded to the Patriots,” Dajani wrote. “How funny would it be if it was actually Beckham who ended up in New England? The Patriots were rumored to be one of the teams that was interested in Beckham when the Cleveland Browns released him in the middle of last season, and Mac Jones could use another weapon. DeVante Parker was a solid addition and Tyquan Thornton could play a fun role in this offense, but Beckham is a true No. 1 wideout.”
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A Lethal Weapon for Mac Jones
Beckham is still a talented wide receiver. Last season he recorded 44 receptions for 537 yards and 5 touchdowns. After being traded to the Los Angeles Rams, Beckham was able to flourish. In eight games he had 27 receptions for 305 yards and 5 touchdowns.
He now has a Super Bowl ring and over 500 receptions for 7,367 yards and 56 touchdowns in eight NFL seasons.
At 29 years old, Beckham still has some good years ahead of him. If he was to come to New England, he would get another shot at being a top receiver for a team.
Beckham would be the most talented wide receiver that Jones has been able to play with in his young career. In what is a crucial second season for Jones, surrounding him with top talent would give Jones all the tools to succeed.
Beckham has talked about how much he admires Bill Belichick, including during a 2019 media conference in which he said of Tom Brady, “I definitely want some of the water that he’s drinking.”
But there are some concerns, particularly the fact that he suffered a knee injury in the Super Bowl. Beckham tore his ACL and won’t be ready for the start of the 2022 season.
There’s also a cap space issue.
New England Doesn’t Have the Money
My new Patriots salary cap space number after accounting for the Devine Ozigbo release and the signing of DaMarcus Mitchell is $987,514.
According to Patriots cap space expert Miguel Benzan, New England doesn’t have a lot of money to spend.
To make more space, the Patriots could reconstruct a contract such as Matthew Judon’s. Less than a million dollars will not be enough to bring Beckham to New England.
At 29 years old, this is one of Beckham’s last opportunities to receive a big-money deal.
So while it might be a good fit, getting Beckham to New England will be a tall task.