Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh watching from the sideline during an NFL game.
The New York Jets are performing their due diligence on a potential star playmaker.
CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson shared on Friday, March 10 that Gang Green was among the teams that were represented at Odell Beckham Jr’s workout.
Jordan Raanan of ESPN revealed that OBJ would hold a workout for interested NFL teams on Friday, March 10 in Arizona.
Sauce Gardner Is Doing an All-out Recruiting Effort for OBJ to Jets
Beckham is a free agent and chose not to join an NFL team this past season. However since he didn’t play in 2022, he is free to sign with a new team as soon as he pleases.
That provides him a unique advantage over the other free-agent wide receivers who have to wait until the league year starts on March 15.
Back on February 20, OBJ curiously made an appearance on Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner’s Twitch stream to play some video games. It raised a few eyebrows on social media that perhaps there was something more going on.
Ohhh baby: #Jets CB Ahmad Gardner (@iamSauceGardner) was hanging out playing some video games w/ free agent WR Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) this week 👀👀👀 some recruiting perhaps? 🤔🧐🤷🏽♂️
That curiosity was confirmed on Friday, March 10 when Sauce displayed a screenshot of a video conversation he was having with OBJ over the phone.
Sauce fired off another tweet adding some context to his apparent conversation with OBJ, “being the No. 1 recruiter in America is stressful.”
OBJ is 30 years of age and has shown the ability to be a dynamic playmaker when healthy.
In eight NFL seasons, the former LSU product has caught 531 receptions for 7,367 receiving yards, and 56 touchdowns.
OBJ has played on three different teams at the professional level and that number is set to increase to four this offseason.
Jets Could Use a New WR on Offense
Earlier this week the Jets released veteran wide receiver Braxton Berrios after failing to come to an agreement on a restructuring.
ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates joined me on my podcast on Friday, March 10, and suggested the Jets might not be done cutting people. He floated veteran wideout Corey Davis as another player they could move on from pretty easily this offseason to create some more cap space.
If that comes to fruition, the Jets’ need for a new wide receiver will only increase on the priority scale.
Of course, the attractiveness of the Jets as a potential destination for a wide receiver could be directly impacted by who the heck will be playing quarterback.
On Sauce’s Twitch stream, he indicated that a player like Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers could be a “package deal.” In other words, he suggested that one player could lead to multiple players coming along for the ride.
That is one of many reasons the Jets would prefer they find out Rodgers’ decision and subsequently solve the QB issues as quickly as possible.
If the Jets know they have A-Rod they can immediately start using him as a selling point to other prospective free agents to come to join the squad for a ring chase in 2023.
However on the other side of the fence it could prove difficult to bring important offensive pieces in if they are unsure who the QB1 will be.