Getty New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner warming up ahead of an NFL game.
A star could be making an epic return to New York this offseason.
This week New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was hosting a video game stream on his Twitch channel with a very special guest, Odell Beckham Jr.
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? 🤔🧐🤷🏽♂️
Odell Beckham Jr Back to New York?
The 30-year-old wideout is an unrestricted free agent and hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2021 season when he was with the Los Angeles Rams.
OBJ scored the first touchdown of Super Bowl 56 for the Rams and appeared to be heading toward a monster day. However, in the second quarter, he went down with an injury and never returned.
It was later discovered that the former LSU product tore his ACL. He chose to recover and rehab as a free agent and flirted with joining an NFL team for a playoff chase at the end of 2022 but never signed a deal.
When OBJ has been on the field he has made magic happen. In eight NFL seasons, Beckham has caught 531 receptions for 7,367 receiving yards and has hauled in 56 touchdowns.
Spotrac’s market value projections believe the veteran will sign a two-year deal for $26 million on the open market. That $13 million annual salary would make him the No. 28 highest-paid wide receiver in football, per Over The Cap.
Wide Receiver Is a Sneaky Need for the Jets in 2023
Some people might ask why would the Jets want OBJ.
Garrett Wilson is a budding star and Elijah Moore is incredibly talented. Those two statements are absolutely true, but you can never have enough playmakers.
Moore is coming off a rough year and will be learning a new offense this offseason. Corey Davis hasn’t lived up to the billing as a reliable veteran offensive weapon.
Throughout his short tenure with the Jets, Davis has had a slew of injuries and has struggled to catch the ball consistently.
Davis was supposed to be a player that provided a high floor as a player. However, he is wildly inconsistent and the highs don’t seem to outweigh the lows.
If the Jets could move on from Davis and bring OBJ in, they’d be increasing the overall ceiling of their offense.
Davis has proven he can be an okay No. 2 wideout. OBJ has proven in the past that he is capable of being a true No. 1 wide receiver for a team.
With a veteran quarterback expected to join the Jets sooner rather than later, they will need as many weapons as possible on offense.
The more the Jets have, the more that defenses will have to try and defend. Hopefully, in a perfect world, the Jets have so many talented players that defenses will have to pick their poison on who they cover and how they choose to cover them.
It has been a while since we’ve seen what OBJ is truly capable of and this would be a risk worth taking if you’re general manager Joe Douglas.
The former LSU star has expressed an interest in returning to the New York market this offseason. While some have assumed that would be with the Giants, the Jets may provide him with more of what he could be looking for.