Sauce Gardner reveals how close Odell Beckham Jr. was to joining Jets

Per Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated, Gardner used this offseason to recruit players to join him with the up-and-coming Jets, and among the top targets was Beckham Jr. The AP Defensive Rookie of the Year told Orr that OBJ "wanted to play" with New York and was asking Gardner to relay a request to a Jets player to see if he could wear No. 7.

Punter Braden Mann wore the digit the last three seasons with the Jets, but he was released in April and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Beckham Jr. was one of the many players on quarterback Aaron Rodgers' reported "wish list" that was revealed in mid-March, six weeks before the former Green Bay Packers legend was officially introduced as a member of his new team. Beckham Jr. is one of the few who didn't end up joining Rodgers, Gardner and company, instead choosing to sign with the Baltimore Ravens.

OBJ hasn't played in an NFL game since Super Bowl LVI, when he helped the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals. The 30-year-old scored the first touchdown of the game but then tore his ACL in the second quarter.