The Patriots currently have a glut of wide receivers at the moment with six players at the position currently on the roster. But might they make room for a player they’ve had their eye on for some time?
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Matt Bowen made the case Tuesday for New England to target Odell Beckham Jr. in free agency once the wide receiver recovers fully from a torn ACL suffered in the Super Bowl. The dynamic receiver has reportedly been cleared for non-contact work and is aiming for a mid-November return, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Why include the Patriots in his list of suitors? For one thing, Fowler wrote, the team “heavily evaluated Beckham's market” during free agency in March but didn’t pull the trigger because of how far away he was to getting back on the field. With a return to action possibly a month away, perhaps they’ll kick the tires once more on the sly.
What’s more: both suggest a better-than-expected offense might stoke Beckham’s interest in coming to Foxborough.
“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 said. “… 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.”
Though Bowen added Beckham might be a “long shot” to sign with the Patriots, Bowen highlighted a strong potential fit with starting quarterback Mac Jones in the “pro” column for a partnership.
“When back healthy, Jones is a timing thrower who can deliver the ball with anticipation. That means more crossers, overs and in-breakers, which would be a fit for Beckham. And it would give the Patriots more juice on offense,” the ESPN analyst notes.
Jones, of course, is currently out of action with an injury of his own and might be a week or two away from playing himself (though don’t count out this weekend against the Browns just yet). But when he does come back, giving him another strong receiver option couldn’t hurt.
Most likely, this won’t happen without a trade or cut of another receiver, with Kendrick Bourne feeling like a logical option to play elsewhere by the end of the month. Though the Patriots might have just enough cap space to make a deal happen, clearing Bourne or some other money off of the books will probably be necessary. Then, there’s the fact that New England would once again have six receivers on the roster, which might not be tenable long-term.
New England probably faces long odds to sign Beckham both due to its positional logjam, logistical issues and lack of easily discernible championship possibilities. But given his past respect for the organization, maybe we shouldn’t count them out just yet.
