Over the past few weeks and months, it was becoming clear that few teams in the NFL were interested in paying top dollar to sign veteran receiver Odell Beckham Jr. as he attempted a comeback to the NFL after sustaining a knee injury. Still, the Baltimore Ravens gave him an absolutely massive contract that no other team seemed to be offering. And one prominent insider has a few theories as to why.
On Monday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains why the Ravens might have given Beckham such a massive contract.
“First, the Ravens have had a hard time persuading receivers to choose to play for an offense predicated on the run. To get someone like Beckham to choose Baltimore, the Ravens needed to come to the table with real money — despite red flags including age (31 in November) and injury history (two ACL tears in the same knee, since October 2020),” Florio wrote for Pro Football Talk.
“Second, the Ravens have been accused by some of being responsible for the absence of a long-term contract with quarterback Lamar Jackson. Signing Beckham, who had been consistently declining lesser offers, shows that the Ravens know how to sign an elite player to a more-than-fair deal. Did they overpay OBJ to prove a point? Maybe they did. The message is that the contract shows they know how to make a great player an offer he won’t refuse.”
“Third, with the Ravens unable to get Jackson to say ‘yes’ to any and all contract offers, Beckham becomes a potentially viable piece of the puzzle. His mere presence can work as a magnet for Jackson, making him naturally want to sign a contract so that he can be present to work with Beckham, in the offseason program (if OBJ is there) or in training camp.”
Regardless of the reason, the Ravens gave Beckham a massive contract. We’ll have to see how it works out for them.
