Ravens Odell Beckham Jr. ‘Availability Crucial' To Baltimore Success
The Baltimore Ravens' signing of Odell Beckham Jr. was a great move for the organization. Quarterback Lamar Jackson finally got some much-needed help at wideout, and Beckham Jr.'s addition also takes some of the offensive burden off tight end Mark Andrews.
But while many celebrate OBJ coming to Baltimore, he comes with an injury history that has many anxious. While he is only on a one-year $15 million "prove it" type deal, the Ravens are counting on him to produce from the get-go.
As such, CBS Sports has ranked Beckham Jr. as one of a host of non-quarterback players to have the pressure to perform next season.
"Even on a one-year deal, $15M is not cheap for a guy who's started 20 games the last three years, missing extensive time with knee injuries," CBS Sports writes. "Beckham is easily the most accomplished member of a remade WR corps, but his availability could be crucial to Lamar Jackson's growth as a passer inside a new offensive system. The Ravens better hope rookie Zay Flowers is ready, too."
But is the pressure real? Having not played a full season since 2016 (16-game season), Beckham Jr. would ideally like to play the majority of next season, providing his body holds up. He also hasn't surpassed 600 receiving yards since 2019, so there is a willingness to get back to his best form with the Ravens.
With Baltimore now moving to a more vertical-style offense under Todd Monken, Odell could see a host of targets coming his way from Jackson.
But there are so many weapons now at Lamar's disposal that Beckham Jr. won't have to be "the guy" on offense, and that could alleviate much of the "so-called" pressure to perform.
It will be a receiver-by-committee type unit next season as OBJ joins Andrews, draftee Zay Flowers, free agent Nelson Agholor, the returning Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay in the wide receiver room.
But out of all those weapons, many are excited to see what Beckham Jr. can produce after his second ACL surgery.
Is there pressure on Odell to perform next season? The Ravens playoff hopes may rest on him being able to recapture his Pro Bowl form of years ago.
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