Before the New York Giants signed Odell Beckham Jr. to a five-year, $95 million contract extension, the New England Patriots reportedly tried to get their hands on the wide receiver.
The Patriots attempted to trade for Beckham last offseason, multiple sources told NBC Sports’ Chris Simms. New England’s interest ultimately stopped the Giants from shopping him, according to Simms.
“The team that was most aggressive in pursuing (Beckham) was the New England Patriots,” Simms said Monday morning on “PFT Live.” “The New England Patriots were trying to get Odell Beckham Jr. all last offseason. That didn’t work out, and I think the Giants got cold feet and said, ‘Wait, New England wants him? Uh oh. Maybe he’s better than we thought. Maybe we should just keep him on our own rather than it being thrown in our face and him going to win a Super Bowl with the Pats.”
FOX Sports’ and The Athletic’s Jay Glazer predicted last week the Giants would trade Beckham this offseason even after signing him to the massive contract extension. Simms also said he could still see a trade going down. We explained why it would still make a lot of sense for the Patriots to acquire Beckham in a blockbuster deal and the ramifications of such a trade for the Giants.
The offseason is young. A deal couldn’t even be made official until March 13 when the new NFL year begins. The Patriots previously have acquired wide receivers Randy Moss, Brandin Cooks, Wes Welker, Deion Branch and Josh Gordon in trades.
