The long-awaited story involving Odell Beckham has finally ended. The free-agent wide receiver has just taken to social media to announce that he is officially joining a franchise. For many, this is the news they’ve been waiting for, as this drama has dragged on for over a year due to his injury history.
Beckham will return to the AFC North division, though it won’t be to the Cleveland Browns. This time, he’ll be a member of the Baltimore Ravens as he inked a one-year, $18 million deal with the franchise. However, it’s a contract that’s truly around $15 million, with the opportunity for him to make up to $18 million. $13.8 million is a signing bonus, $1.1 million is his base salary, and the remaining $3 million will be from incentives.
Odell became a free agent right after the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in that game and had to miss the entire 2022 season due to franchises having concerns regarding his recovery process and potential to impact their team. At just 30 years old, Beckham has some juice left in the tank to help the Ravens progress.
One team that got thrown off by this process was the New York Jets. Ever since it was said that Aaron Rodgers would suit up for the Jets in 2023, there was an assumption that Odell would follow. It also got reported that he would meet up with the Jets on Sunday night as they attempt to work towards a deal. However, he didn’t wait that long before signing into a different team before he met with them. Baltimore knew the money was the only thing holding him back, and they opted to give him just that.
What makes this situation weird is that Baltimore has a problem with Lamar Jackson. It’s been years with Lamar now, and they’ve never made much of a push to improve their passing game by signing receivers. In the one off-season that Jackson demands a new contract and asks to leave the team, Baltimore goes ahead and splashes with the Odell signing. While a positive, Lamar could also think of it as an insult considering that they had no problem dishing out $15 million to Odell and not tacking on that extra cash for himself. Lamar could undoubtedly be on his way out without a new deal, but they could be a scary duo if this influences him to come back and suit up for Baltimore.
Though health could still be a significant factor for Odell, considering that he’s suffered a few in the past few years, he’s been playing. When healthy, though, he’s a wideout that’s hauled in 56 touchdowns since he came into the league while averaging a whopping 13.9 yards per reception across eight seasons with three different teams.
