Another NFL off-season has brought with it more Odell Beckham Jr. trade chatter.
Last year, talk of an OBJ trade was rampant in the lead-up to the New York Giants star wide receiver eventually signing a five-year, $90-million extension at the end of August. But that new contract hasn’t quelled the rumours, as talk of a trade picked up again last week after The Athletic‘s Jay Glazer predicted Beckham Jr. would “get traded this off-season” (Subscription required).
ProFootballTalk’s Chris Simms added fuel to that fire on Monday when he not only said he believes Beckham being traded is still “a very real possibility,” but discussed just how close the Giants were to shipping Beckham out of the Big Apple last off-season.
“I don’t think everybody realizes — and I didn’t realize this — how close Odell Beckham Jr. was to being traded last year, Mike,” Simms said on PFT Live in a conversation with Mike Florio. “I mean it was really close.”
So why didn’t a trade happen? According to Simms, it was “aggressive” interest from the New England Patriots that made the Giants think twice about dealing the divisive pass catcher.
“The Giants were going to trade him, and I think they were really looking and listening to all offers. You know what really stopped it? And I think this is what’s going to shock people. … The thing that stopped the trade conversations with Odell Beckham Jr. is because the team that was most aggressive in pursuing him was the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots were trying to get Odell Beckham Jr. all last off-season.
“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 instead of it being thrown in our face and him going to win a Super Bowl with the Pats.'”
For anyone who’s not a fan of the Patriots, the idea of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady teaming up with Beckham Jr. is a terrifying one. New England had arguably one of its most underwhelming groups of offensive weapons this past season and still won the Super Bowl.
Whether the Patriots would be equally as aggressive in a pursuit of Beckham this off-season — or whether they have any interest at all — remains to be seen.
Despite some on-field struggles in 2018 and off-field questions, Beckham Jr. remains one of the top players at his position and would likely garner interest from any team with the means to make a trade happen.
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