Odell Beckham Jr. Reflects On Nearly Joining Patriots Before Trade

The New England Patriots have needed a true No. 1 receiver to transform their offense for quite some time.

In an alternate world, Odell Beckham Jr. would have taken his talents to the Patriots.

Before ultimately being traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2019, Beckham Jr. had several options on where his career could go after moving on from the New York Giants. With Tom Brady still captaining the offense fresh off of a Super Bowl LIII win, the Pro Bowl receiver recognized what could have been with the Patriots.

“The Giants sent me off to Cleveland to die,” Beckham Jr. told current teammate Marlon Humphrey on the “Punch Line Podcast” in a new episode. ” I could’ve gone to the 49ers, I could’ve gone to the Patriots. I could’ve gone to teams that had a chance to be great. That’s not what their desire was.”

The Patriots entered the 2019 season with plenty of stars at wide receiver in Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas, Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown. Edelman was the only one to make it through the season as New England’s offense struggled mightily in the second half of the season. Looking back, Beckham Jr. could have changed the potential for a Patriots squad that started that season with eight straight victories.

Beckham Jr. still found success in the next phase of his NFL career, winning Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams and now prepares for another playoff run with the No. 1 seeded Baltimore Ravens in the AFC.

Meanwhile, for the Patriots, New England looks to move back to contention in 2024 under new head coach Jerod Mayo.