Beckham was reportedly visiting Jets on Monday before signing with Baltimore
Jets GM Aaron Rodgers, er, I mean Jets GM Joe Douglas, was dealt some bad news on Easter Sunday when Odell Beckham Jr. signed a one-year deal worth $15 million guaranteed with the Baltimore Ravens. It was said that Rodgers, who should be a Jet sometime before the start of the season, really wanted Beckham added to the receiving corps, but he’ll have to settle for Allen Lazard, who he pressured the Jets into signing a few weeks back.
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The Jets also brought in Nathaniel Hackett to be the offensive coordinator when they were in the courtship phase of their relationship with Rodgers, who emerged from a darkness retreat with playing for somebody other than the Green Bay Packers on his mind.
The Packers and Jets have yet to work out a deal that suits both parties, but it also appears that the Jets were unable to work out one that would suit Beckham’s wishes.
Baltimore Ravens betting odds and schedule
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, the Ravens are +400 to win the AFC North and +3500 to win Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Some are speculating that Beckham signing with the Ravens must be good news on the Lamar Jackson front, since it seems extremely unlikely that OBJ would agree to terms in Baltimore without knowing who would play quarterback.
DraftKings has Baltimore’s season win total listed at 8.5, with the Over at -125 and the Under at +105. Dates and times have not yet been announced for the regular season, but the Ravens play the six division games (Browns, Bengals, Steelers), the AFC South (Texans/Colts at home; Titans/Jaguars on the road), NFC West (Rams/Seahawks at home; 49ers/Cardinals on the road) and then the Dolphins and Lions at home, along with the Chargers on the road based on their second-place schedule.
What’s going on with Lamar Jackson?
The Ravens placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson back on March 7 and have until July 17 to reach a contract extension with the former NFL MVP. Jackson is serving as his own agent and is working to find either a dotted line to sign on with the Ravens or another team to play for this season and beyond. Jackson could sign an offer sheet with another team that the Ravens would have five days to match. They could also opt not to match and get two first-round picks.
Odell Beckham signs with Ravens
Perhaps Beckham is being used as a sweetener for Jackson to sign a deal in Baltimore. The Ravens certainly needed to get whoever plays quarterback some help at the wide receiver position and Beckham should be exactly that. He’s +2000 to be the Comeback Player of the Year.
Beckham missed the entire 2022 season as a result of the torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl against the Bengals. He had 44 catches for 537 yards in his age-29 season in 2021 with five touchdowns – all of which came with the Rams over eight games. The former Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 was a Pro Bowler in his first three seasons, but has battled a lot of injuries since.
He did have 1,000-yard seasons in both 2018 and 2019 before only playing seven games for the Browns in 2020 and having a tough 2021 season.
Beckham turns 31 on November 5, but is returning from a major knee injury, so time will tell how effective he can be.
Baltimore Ravens NFL Draft
The Ravens were linked pretty heavily to a wide receiver in the first round and it may be smart to keep that plan in place, even with the addition of Beckham. Some wonder if TCU’s Quentin Johnston may hang around long enough to go 22nd overall with Baltimore’s first-round pick. USC’s Jordan Addison and Boston College’s Zay Flowers could also be options per some mock drafts.
It all depends how quickly teams have a run on wide receivers and whether or not the Ravens want to use their bevy of draft picks to move up or maybe add some more by moving down.
The other popular position in mocks is for the Ravens to take a defensive back like South Carolina’s Cam Smith, Maryland’s Deonte Banks or Devon Witherspoon out of Illinois.
