Google News Odell Beckham Jr.: I was very close to signing with the New England Patriots
by DZEVAD MESIC | VIEW 1216
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. revealed he almost signed with the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots after being cut by the Cleveland Browns. Beckham managed to force his way out of Cleveland as the Browns cut him on November 5.
Multiple teams were interested in signing Beckham and he had interest in joining several teams. In the end, Beckham decided to sign with the Rams. The Saints were 5-2 at the time Beckham became a free agent but just five days earlier they lost their starting quarterback Jameis Winston to a seasn-ending injury.
"I was close, very close," Beckham said of signing in New Orleans, via the Saintswire. "It just didn't feel like the right time. Right place, wrong time."
Beckham was really interested in joining the Patriots
Beckham admitted he would have signed with the Patriots had he been called from the team three years earlier while Tom Brady was still their quarterback.
"I don't think I joked with him on the phone," Beckham said, via MassLive.com. "But I was like, if this was three years ago, it would have been ideal. Because Tom [Brady] is one of the -- he's one of my favorites." Patriots head coach Bill Belichick himself called Beckham and wanted to bring him to New England.
"For a guy, coach like Bill Belichick, who've all admired for years and I've seen and just always was like, 'Man, one day, I'm gonna play for Bill Belichick.' For him to call me, to be able to just sit down on the phone with him and talk football, I mean, what more could you ask for?" Beckham said.
"So, I was very close. That was one of the teams that was in there. But I felt like [Los Angeles] was home." Beckham's decision to join the Rams has been a good one as he is set to play in his first Super Bowl this Sunday.