Report: OBJ returning to the AFC North

Decked out in purple in the above picture, WR Odell Beckham Jr. was either sending signals about his future landing spot or, more likely, wearing Los Angeles Lakers purple as one of their games.

Beckham has been the talk of the NFL since last season when he was reportedly ready to return from an ACL tear in the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. Rumors swirled about a number of teams being interested in the receiver including the Cleveland Browns, his former team.

This offseason, it seemed things were lined up for Beckham to join QB Aaron Rodgers once he was dealt to the New York Jets. Instead, reports are in that he will sign with the Baltimore Ravens:

The Ravens have been a team in focus all offseason as well with QB Lamar Jackson given the non-exclusive franchise tag but asking for a trade from the team. Even backup QB Tyler Huntley isn’t under contract as Baltimore placed a restricted free agent tender on him.

We quickly learned why Beckham chose the Ravens: money:

According to a report, OBJ’s contract with Baltimore could be worth up to $18 million for one season. It is important to note that “up to” could be due to some unrealistic contract stipulations. What matters most, especially given the receiver’s health issues, is how much is guaranteed.

OBJ is a big name ever since his big plays with the New York Giants but hasn’t had more than 1,000 yards receiving since 2019 and his last time over 1,100 or 10 receiving TDs was in 2016.

All of that was before two ACL tears.

It will be interesting how this signing impacts Jackson’s situation as the quarterback, like OBJ, seems focused on getting paid. Signing a receiver that could be past his prime for a potentially big contract may not help the relationship between the QB and team.

For now, we know Beckham returns to the AFC North and will face his former team twice in 2023. Who will be throwing him the ball and how healthy he is are two very important questions that we won’t have answers to for awhile.