If Rex Ryan had his way, Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr. would be dressing in green-and-white this coming season.

As some may, or may not, recall, Beckham’s rookie year with the Giants didn’t really begin all that well. Hampered by a nagging hamstring injury, Beckham sat out the majority of the team’s offseason workouts and training camp. He eventually worked himself back, before a re-injury sidelined him the first four games of 2014.

It was during this time, according to Sports Illustrated, that the then-Jets coach tried to make a move:

“Believe me, I was trying to trade for him [with the Jets] when he had the hamstring,” Ryan said. “I was reading the [New York] papers, and I was like, ‘Well, hell, we’ll take him.'”

It seems like a crazy thought now, but many Giants faithful may have signed on for that that summer. It was volatile, really volatile at times. The Giants, in the midst of installing Ben McAdoo’s new offense (his first year as offensive coordintor) were having a horrific offseason. Seriously, from someone who covered that camp, it was painful to watch.

The first team offense rarely faced the first team defense in practice because it was that big of a mismatch. Interceptions were thrown on every other play, and countless other miscommunications on others. It was ugly, really ugly, and all the while Beckham was on the bench.

It got to the point where Beckham refused to speak to the media until he was medically cleared. This simply added more fuel to the “The Giants should have draft guard Zack Martin” fire.

The Giants, though, didn’t budge, kept Beckham and eventually, well, the rest is history. . .

In 27 career games, Beckham has pulled in 187 passes for 2,755 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’s viewed as one of the best wideouts in the entire league.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05NdSCmOu-E

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Connor Hughes covers the Jets and is the managing editor of Jets Wire. He can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes), or via email (chughes@usatoday.com)