The New York Jets said goodbye to 41-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers after last season, and signed 26-year-old, 2021 first-round draft pick Justin Fields, who will now play for his third team in five years.
Inking Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract â though the young signal-caller has won only 14 NFL games while losing 30 â appears to indicate that the Jets, who have not posted a winning season since 2015 and gave missed the playoffs every year since 2010, are committed to a youth movement at the position after the failed Rodgers experiment.
Jets Still Missing Important Piece
But if they want Fields to succeed, the Jets and new head coach Aaron Glenn are missing one important element â depth at wide receiver. Right now, Fields will have exactly one reliable target, 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garett Wilson.
Wilson has averaged 11.6 yards on 279 receptions in his three year career. But after Wilson, the Jets still have no clear second option for Fields, and that does not bode well for New York to turn around its fortunes of the past decade.
Enter another Offensive Rookie of the Year, this one from 2014. His best years may be now behind him, but after an online hoax circulated this week claiming that he would retire, Odell Beckham Jr. now says definitively that he will play in the NFL for the 2025 season.
Beckham: Career ‘Ain’t Over Yet’
“When was that announced and by who?” Beckham posted on his social media Tuesday. “Thatâs funny, appreciate the concerns but this **** ainât over yet.â
Shortly after his first response, Beckham went back online to post, âNot done yet⦠thanks for hr concerns and have a blessed day.â
With the NFL’s opening day less than one month away, and Beckham remaining a free agent after the Miami Dolphins released him with four weeks to go in the 2024 season last December, after he caught just nine passes for 55 yards over nine games for Miami, the 2014 New York Giants first-round draft pick out of LSU is looking for a home.
So, where does the three-time Pro Bowl selection play in 2025? According to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, he’ll likely be playing somewhere.
“Three-time Pro Bowl WR Odell Beckham Jr. has drawn interest from several teams and plans to play somewhere in 2025, per source,” the reporter wrote on Wednesday. “As OBJ posted himself, he is not retiring, and he continues to train in anticipation of being on the field soon.”
Jets Named Likely Landing Spot For 3-Time Pro Bowler
According to CBS Sports, one of the most likely landing spots for the 32-year-old would be the Jets.
“What if Beckham wasn’t teasing a Giants reunion by posing outside of MetLife Stadium this summer, but rather a return to East Rutherford, New Jersey, in general?” wrote CBS NFL analyst Copy Benjamin.
“The Jets arguably have an even greater need for receiving help behind Garrett Wilson, with Josh Reynolds currently tabbed the No. 2 target for new quarterback Justin Fields and fellow reserve Allen Lazard still a banged-up candidate to be moved to stay reunited with Aaron Rodgers,” Benjamin continued. “Beckham might also prefer to stay close to his NFL roots if he gives his playing career a final go.”
“The Jets need a true second option for Fields,” added Sportscasting.com editor Dan Girolamo, who also lists the Jets as a top landing spot for the 10-year veteran. “Why not take a gamble on Beckham, a receiver who thrived as the second option on the Super Bowl-winning Los Angeles Rams?”
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