Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson looked like he was packing his bags and ready to head elsewhere this offseason. He requested a trade from the team and was hoping to land somewhere that would pay him the kind of contract he believed he was worth.
Eventually, the two sides were able to put their differences aside and hammer out a deal. Jackson didn’t break Deshaun Watson’s record for guaranteed money, but he did become the richest man in NFL history with the contract the Ravens signed him to.
While all of that money certainly helped bring Jackson into the fold, some of the roster additions that the Ravens made had to have played a part as well. Throughout his career, the wide receiver position hasn’t been one of emphasis for the organization, but that changed this offseason.
The biggest splash that the Ravens made was signing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year deal that could be worth up to $18 million. That is a lot of money for a player who missed the entire 2022 season because of injury but shows just how committed the organization was to making an upgrade to appease Jackson.
While Beckham is assuredly going to take things slow to reacclimate himself to the football field and his new teammates, things are going smoothly thus far. He feels good and is confident that he will be up to the speed he wants to be once the regular season rolls around.
Jackson agrees with that assessment. He was recently asked about how Beckham looked during the team’s first OTAs and Jackson believes that the former All-Pro is coming along nicely.
“I think he looked pretty smooth. Crisp routes, great hands. As everybody knows, he can catch the ball. He looked pretty good out there,” Jackson said.
That is certainly encouraging that Beckham has looked so good on the practice field despite how long he was sidelined. These practices are important not only to knock off the rust but for Beckham to build chemistry with Jackson.
The tandem is expecting to do more of that even when the team isn’t holding practices. There are plans for Jackson and Beckham to get together and work out between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp so that they can build upon the progress that has already been made.
