Why NFL Insider Believes Patriots Could Purse Odell Beckham Jr. — Again

Is it really a Patriots season if there aren’t Odell Beckham Jr. rumors and eyeball emojis?

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday snuck a fascinating detail into a story about Beckham’s potential landing spots this season. The star receiver, who’ll turn 30 years old next month, remains a free agent after re-tearing his ACL last February in Super Bowl LVI.

“New England is worth watching because I’m told it heavily evaluated Beckham’s market early in free agency in March,” Fowler wrote. “Like most teams, it knew Beckham’s recovery would take a while, so talks never went anywhere.”

Fowler also noted why he believes the Patriots still could make sense as a destination for Beckham.

“After much preseason debate about the direction of the Patriots’ offense under coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, it has averaged 5.8 yards per play this season, which ranks 10th in the league — and that’s with backup quarterbacks the past two games,” Fowler wrote. “Plus, the defense has found its footing. Wideout DeVante Parker, acquired in the offseason as a deep-threat option, has eight catches on the season. Maybe coach Bill Belichick believes he’s a player away and will pay the premium required to outbid others for Beckham. New England has $4.4 million in cap space, which should be enough to make something work.”

So, what should we make of all this?

First of all, new reporting indicates that Beckham will be ready to play in November. Additionally, the three-time Pro Bowler recently visited a handful of NFL teams, and the Patriots weren’t one of them. New England also wasn’t among the reported suitors named by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio in a story last Sunday.

Obviously, all of that could change at any moment.

The history between Beckham and the Patriots also must be considered. New England made a run at Beckham last season when he was released by the Cleveland Browns, and Beckham later revealed he almost signed with the Patriots before ultimately choosing the Los Angeles Rams. The interest between the two parties dates back to Tom Brady’s time in Foxboro, Mass.

With all that said, the Patriots’ reported free agency talks with Beckham occurred before they drafted receiver Tyquan Thornton and traded for Parker. New England doesn’t have enough room for the wideouts currently on its roster, let alone an aging free agent coming off a second ACL tear.

Nevertheless, this will be something to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead.