Patriots Rumors: Odell Beckham Jr. 'Worth Watching' for NE After Offseason Interest

The New England Patriots could emerge as a contender to sign free-agent Odell Beckham Jr., according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

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

Beckham is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered Feb. 13 during the Los Angeles Rams' 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday he might wait until mid-November to get back on the field. In addition, he may not make a decision about his next stop until after the Nov. 1 trade deadline passes.

A reunion with the Rams, who maintained his locker heading into the season, looked like his most obvious choice. Then the Rams started 2-3, so returning to Southern California may not be the move if his priority is winning another Super Bowl.

The Patriots have the same record, but they're only one game off the Miami Dolphins for the final wild-card spot. You can also talk yourself into the idea of New England turning things around when Mac Jones is back healthy from his ankle sprain.

In addition, Beckham said in February he had considered signing with the Pats before joining the Rams. He may not want to turn down the opportunity to join Bill Belichick a second time.

New England could certainly use the 29-year-old, depending on where he is physically after his ACL tear.

DeVante Parker, the team's biggest offseason addition at wideout, has caught just eight passes for 189 yards and one touchdown so far. Second-round draft pick Tyquan Thornton missed the first four games as well because of a clavicle injury.

If Beckham can replicate his Rams run (48 receptions, 593 yards and seven touchdowns between the regular season and playoffs), then he'd be a great stopgap for the Patriots in the second half of the year.