Odell Beckham Jr. leaves Aaron Rodgers in the dust, signs with Ravens

Odell Beckham Jr. was on Aaron Rodgers’ wish list for the Jets but the wide receiver is heading to the Ravens instead on a one-year contract. 

Given how the New York Jets have operated this offseason, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Odell Beckham Jr. would be headed back to the Big Apple, just donning green instead of blue this time around. The wide receiver, however, had other plans. Namely, plans with the Baltimore Ravens.

Despite being on the wish list that Rodgers reportedly gave to the Jets this offseason of players he’d want to play in New York with and with Beckham having recently met with Gang Green, the wide receiver is signing a contract with the Baltimore Ravens, as reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.

Beckham hasn’t played since Super Bowl LVI as a member of the Rams then when he suffered a torn ACL. He garnered heavy interest at the end of last season but was unable to sign due to his prolonged recovery. That interest continued into the 2023 offseason and the Ravens, who were part of the mix at the end of 2022, made the push to make the deal happen.

Odell Beckham Jr. contract details: Ravens ink WR to one-year deal

Per the report from Rapoport, the Ravens are signing Beckham to a one-year deal that is worth up to $18 million.

There is no word on how much of the contract is guaranteed and what the base salary will be, but the language in the reporting suggests that there will be playing time and/or performance-based incentives for the wide receiver.

While Beckham is indeed ignoring the Jets and their likely soon-to-be new quarterback in Rodgers with this move, the receiver isn’t going to a situation where that position is settled by any stretch. The Ravens have seemingly not made progress on any deal with quarterback Lamar Jackson after placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on the former MVP, allowing him to negotiate with other teams.

Perhaps landing a true weapon for the passing offense will help Baltimore work toward a deal with Jackson, but we’ll have to see. No matter who the Ravens signal-caller is in 2023, though, they’ll have a shiny new toy to work with.