Report: Odell Beckham Jr. Signed With Ravens 'Knowing, Believing' Lamar Jackson Would be Quarterback

Cincinnati's top competitor in the AFC North made a splash move this past weekend.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Publish date:
Apr 11, 2023 4:05 PM EDT

In this story:

CINCINNATI — Odell Beckham Jr. is confident Lamar Jackson will throw him passes next season. Ian Rapoport explained the receiver's decision to join the Baltimore Ravens this week.

"It was pretty clear during this entire process that if Odell Beckham Jr. was going to sign with the Ravens, he was going to do so knowing and believing that Lamar Jackson was going to be his quarterback," Rapoport said on NFL Network. "And so it was no accident. That probably within minutes, I believe within minutes of the agreement in terms of between OBJ and the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson posted to Instagram, showing the two had actually been FaceTiming. My understanding is Lamar Jackson helped recruit Odell doing so with the thought of 'Hey, I'm probably going to be your quarterback.' There's no deal done.

"I don't get the sense that anything is close despite the fact that Baltimore has tried several different ways to lock in a deal, despite the fact that Lamar Jackson has publicly said that he would like to be traded. All this is done with the belief that Lamar will end up, somehow some way, whether on the tag or on a new contract as the Ravens quarterback in 2023."

Beckham signed a one-year deal with Baltimore worth up to $18 million as the team tries to entice Jackson to stick around for next season at the least.

The former all-pro wide receiver has not averaged over four-plus catches or 46-plus yards receiving per game in any season since 2019.

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