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Jets Rumors: Rex Ryan Wanted To Trade For Odell Beckham Jr.

By Kenneth Teape

Oct 4, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan reacts to a call during the second half against the New York Giants at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Giants beat the Bills 24 to 10. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan reacts to a call during the second half against the New York Giants at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Giants beat the Bills 24 to 10. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /
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Recent New York Jets rumors go back to the Rex Ryan era, as the former head coach said he attempted to trade for New York Giants’ star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in his rookie year.

A New York Jets rumor popped up over the weekend that goes back to when Rex Ryan was still manning the sidelines as the head coach. When Ryan was the head coach of the Jets, he mentioned during an interview with Don Banks of SI.com that he attempted to trade for Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants during his rookie season.

Ryan, who is now the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, was defending his top wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who is currently injured and was in the same draft class as Beckham Jr. Ryan was using Beckham Jr. as an example about great players dealing with injuries.

Beckham Jr. missed the first four games of his rookie year because of a troublesome hamstring issue. It was something that he dealt with throughout the offseason and summer, but the wait has been more than worth it for the Giants as Beckham Jr. has quickly become one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

Here is part of what Ryan said during his interview with Banks:

"“Has he missed a little time? Yeah. Big deal. He and everyone else,” Ryan said of Watkins. “The Beckham kid came out the same year, and he missed how many games with a hamstring issue? Believe me, I was trying to trade for him when he had the hamstring. I was reading the [New York] papers, and I was like, ‘Well, hell, we’ll take him.’ But Sammy’s not even going to miss any time. He’s going to be ready to roll when it matters.”"

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Ryan would have loved to have Beckham Jr. on his Jets team, as the talent on the offensive side of the ball was lacking towards the end of his tenure to say the least. The goals of the front office and Ryan were different, as he was in win-now mode trying to safe his job, while the front office was trying to build for the future.

It led to the two parties parting ways, as Ryan moved on to the Bills, and the Jets hired Todd Bowles. There was pretty much zero chance that the Giants would have moved Beckham Jr. before he even saw the field, but this could very much also just be Rex being Rex.

The relationship that Ryan had with the general manager at the time, John Idzik, was tenuous at best. Because of that, this could have also been a shot at him as a talent evaluator and his ability to draft.

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Idzik did take three wide receivers in that draft, Shaq Evans, Jalen Saunders and Quincy Enunwa. None of three did much to save Ryan’s job, as two aren’t even on the team anymore and one is used more as a tight end now than wide receiver.

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