During Monday night's ManningCast of the New York Giants-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, Julian Edelman said he had the opportunity to join a team other than the New England Patriots.

Edelman retired this past offseason after 12 NFL seasons.

The wide receiver said Tom Brady tried to recruit him to the Buccaneers as soon as the quarterback moved to Tampa Bay in 2020. Seven years earlier, Edelman said he also had a chance to join Eli Manning with the Giants.

"(Tom) hit me up the first day he signed there, like, 'You wanna come down?'" Edelman said of a potential reunion with Brady and Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay. "I was like, 'Absolutely not.'"

Edelman was a free agent in 2013, when he flirted with the Giants before re-signing with New England on a one-year deal.

"It was pretty close," Edelman told the Manning brothers. "I went and visited down there in Jersey and met with (Tom) Coughlin and had nothing but respect for the organization ... but I looked at my choices of going back to the Pats ... (and) Peyton, thank you for taking (Wes) Welker off our hands ... and the rest is history. You guys are saying, 'Once a Giant, always a Giant.' Well, 'Almost a Giant, always a Patriot.'"

The New England Patriots have outscored opponents 175-50 over their five-game winning streak.

After Thursday night's 25-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Mac Jones said the Patriots' offense can improve.

"I think we'll just have to watch it and see what happened," the rookie quarterback said. "I think they emptied the clip on what they were going to try and bring against us. They did a good job on the defensive side. We can do better on offense, so we’ll do that and it all just starts with watching the film. It’s a short week but there’s no excuses. We can play better, and we will."

Mac Jones is on pace to set the NFL record for completion percentage by a rookie quarterback.

Dak Prescott completed 67.76 percent of his passes as a rookie for the Dallas Cowboys in 2016.

Jones has completed 69.04 percent of his passes this season for the New England Patriots.

After going unclaimed on waivers, Odell Beckham, Jr. has "prioritized" the Green Bay Packers as his top destination, according to a report.

Beckham had just 17 catches for 232 yards and zero touchdowns in six games for the Cleveland Browns this season.

Another report stated that the New England Patriots have been in touch with the wide receiver's camp.

Dianna Russini reports that Beckham is considering the Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints.

Carolina Panthers defender Haason Reddick called the first-quarter no-call in which New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones held Brian Burns' right ankle as the outside linebacker twisted to get away after a strip sack "egregious'' and "completely dirty."

Burns returned after spending time in the sideline medical tent, but in the fourth quarter, he had to again be helped off the field with an injury to the same ankle.

"Definitely thought it was a dirty play,'' Reddick said. "I actually saw and witnessed the play while it was happening. At first it felt like he was trying trip or kick Burns. And the next thing you know I saw him tugging on Burns' ankle. I thought it was completely dirty. Hopefully, it's something the league addresses.''

Referee Clete Blakeman said it was a "subjective call'' and something the league would have to deal with in its evaluation of the game crew as to whether the officials should have called something.

Matt Rhule said "a foul should have been called,'' whether it was a personal foul or holding.

"I don't want to call out any of their players or anything like that,'' said Rhule, who said earlier in the week he loved Jones, a player his staff coached in the Senior Bowl. "I'm always gonna protect our guys, and it looked like it was an injury that happened after the play.''

Stephon Gilmore will face the New England Patriots as a member of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The cornerback was traded while on the physically unable to perform list due to the torn quad that ended his 2020 season.

"I just didn't like how they handled my situation, my injury. A lot went on with that I didn't agree with," Gilmore said of the injury and the Patriots. "Now that I'm here, I'm able to do the things I have to do to get me back ready to where I need to be. I learned a lot there. I have a lot of friends there. A lot of great coaches. I just didn't like how they handled my situation with my injury."

Gilmore declined to specify what he thinks the Patriots could have done differently and admitted that his desire for a new contract was also an issue that helped lead to his departure from New England.