After the Browns released Odell Beckham Jr. in November, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick picked up the phone.

The Patriots, with limited cap space, had serious interest in signing the 3-time Pro Bowl receiver as a free agent. Belichick and Beckham had thrown verbal bouquets to one another before through the media, genuine signs of respect. Beckham admitted Monday he used to dream about playing for Belichick, and once hoped to catch passes from his former quarterback.

“I don’t think I joked with (Belichick) on the phone, but I was (feeling) like, ‘You know, if this was three years ago, it would have been ideal. You know?” Beckham told reporters Monday. “Because Tom (Brady), he’s one of my favorites.”

Of course, Beckham eventually chose the Rams over the Patriots and a handful of other contenders. He said he settled in Los Angeles because it “was calling me.”

Still, Beckham said the phone call from Belichick was touching because of the coach’s standing in the league and their longtime, mutual respect.

“To be able to just sit down on the phone with him and talk football, it was like what more could you ask for? So I was very close (to signing),” Beckham said. “That was one of the teams that was in there, but I just felt like this was home. I felt like this was right. And coach (Sean) McVay, I’ve had a relationship with him for years. I joked with big (Rams offensive tackle Andrew) Whitworth that this was (done) years ago.”

In Los Angeles, Beckham caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns over the team’s last eight regular-season games. So far this postseason, he’s had 19 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown. His 113-yard performance in the NFC Championship Game helped sustain the Rams during their comeback win over the 49ers.

Meanwhile, across the country and the league, the Patriots’ passing game struggled down the stretch, when they lost four of their last five games. Their receiving corps, widely regarded as one of the NFL’s least talented, had trouble unsticking from man-to-man coverage in two losses to the Bills, including a season-ending wild-card defeat. The Pats are now expected to bolster their wideout depth this offseason, via free agency, the draft or both.