Ravens overpay Odell Beckham to beat out Jets: Are there strings attached to those millions?

The Baltimore Ravens — who swooped in and stole free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham from the New York Jets — aren’t paying him just to catch passes. Ironically, the guy who forced his way off the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns is being asked to persuade disgruntled quarterback Lamar Jackson — who wants out — to stay.

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CBS’ Josina Anderson reported Sunday that “Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has been in frequent communication with Odell Beckham Jr, pitching him on the idea of coming to Baltimore, the support he would have with the team and the necessity of helping to square things with Lamar Jackson as well.”

Beckham — who began his “sign me” tour in the final weeks of last season and continued it through the NFL annual spring meetings — missed all of last season and hasn’t played since suffering a torn ACL 15 months ago while playing for the L.A. Rams in the Super Bowl.

In 2021, Beckham caught 48 passes for 593 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games. In eight seasons after being drafted by the Giants and playing with the Browns and Rams, Beckham has 531 career catches for 7,367 yards and 56 touchdowns.

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Beckham was scheduled to visit with the Jets on Sunday night or Monday, according to multiple reports, and reportedly was excited by the possibility of teaming with Aaron Rodgers but money won out. The market for Beckham was estimated at $15M for one year, and the Ravens exceeded that by offering an additional $3 million in incentives.

Beckham will reunite with Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who was Beckham’s coordinator in Cleveland in 2019.

“I really like Odell. Odell is super athletic, twitchy. [He] really likes football. I really did [like him],” Monken said at his introductory news conference in February, according to the Baltimore Sun “He’s like every skill player. He’s no different — I don’t know why everybody gets pissed off — like, he wants the ball. Well, really? I don’t know where I’ve been where a great player didn’t want the ball. I don’t know where a basketball player didn’t want shots or a baseball player didn’t want to get at-bats. That’s what they want. They want opportunities to showcase their ability. I think it’s awesome.”

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