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Former All-Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. didn't play in 2022 while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Super Bowl LVI with the Rams. The LSU product signed a one-year, $15 million deal to join the Ravens last April, and had a productive season by any standards.
And now, after a week of free agency, Beckham appears to think he might not be coming back to Baltimore.
Beckham posted a message on Instagram on Sunday that sounds a lot like a goodbye.
"Swea on everything I appreciate the Flock more than yall could EVER imagine. Did everything I could wit the opportunities I had. Wish I got to do it big for yall," Beckham wrote.After Baltimore was eliminated from play by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game on in January, Beckham addressed reporters about his future.
Ravens general manager Erick DeCosta spoke to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and made comments suggesting the possibility that OBJ will return to Charm City in 2024.
“We’ve just texted,” DeCosta said. “He’s a great, great guy. I love Odell.
“He’s become a great friend of mine and a friend to the Ravens, and I think we’ll just kind of assess and see what happens over the next couple of weeks.”
Beckham thinks he can still contribute to a winner, and that's what he wants to do.
"I know that I can still play football and I know that I still have s*** in the tank," OBJ said via Jamison Hensley. "As far as my future, just take a step back, breathe for a second, pick your chin up. Just know that life goes on and we will figure out what's next after that."
Beckham recovered from his injury to post 35 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games and three starts.
In 10 seasons with four teams, he's caught 566 balls for 7,932 yards and 59 touchdowns. He found the most success in his first three seasons in the league after being selected 12th overall by the Giants in the 2014 NFL Draft. From 2014-2016 OBJ made the Pro Bowl and earned All-Pro honors.
Will he return to the Ravens in 2024? That remains to be seen. But wherever he goes it most likely won't be for $15 million. The Ravens ended up having a crowded receiver's room in new offensive coordinator Todd Monken's offense. Rookie Zay Flowers played brilliantly while newcomer Nelson Agholor caught on quickly.
Beckham's future might be up in the air, but his ability to contribute to an NFL contender no longer is.
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Report: Bengals draw hard line in Trey Hendrickson contract talks
Cincinnati Bengals star defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been holding out from training camp as he seeks a new contract, and it does not sound like the two sides are all that close to a deal. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on "SportsCenter" Monday that there has been "some progress" in negotiations between the Bengals and Hendrickson's representatives over the past week or so. The real disagreement has to do with guaranteed money, and Cincinnati's brass is not budging. "Hendrickson wants a stronger guaranteed structure, particularly later in what should be a multiyear deal. In talking to people with the Bengals they feel like, 'Hey, we've probably relented as far as we can go.' So this is a classic stare-off right now, and it's time to buckle up," Fowler said, via Andrew Peters of Bleacher Report. Hendrickson is set to earn $16M in base salary in the final year of his contract this season. He recently said he has shown a willingness to take less than market value on a new deal, but the Bengals do not want to guarantee him money beyond the 2026 season. Based on what he has said, the 30-year-old Hendrickson is not seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in football. In order to accomplish that, he would have to top the three-year, $123M extension T.J. Watt signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Hendrickson had 35 sacks over the past two seasons, which was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024. The Bengals took care of one major offseason issue on Sunday when they finally signed first-round pick Shemar Stewart to a rookie deal. All it will take is one side to budge in the team's ongoing stalemate with Hendrickson, but all parties seem to be dug in as training camp rolls on.
Cubs in danger of making enormous trade-deadline mistake
Boasting a 62-44 record in the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs are still searching for a way to pull ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers took sole possession of first place in the division from the Cubs in an 8-4 win on Monday. Chicago will get its chance before the three-game set is over, but if the Cubs should fall to the Brewers, the trade deadline will be viewed as essential for their World Series chances. Several rumors of Chicago’s interest in starters, relievers and third basemen have swirled nonstop. And while they have shown interest in several quality names — Mitch Keller, Eugenio Suárez, MacKenzie Gore — some of their other trade targets are less than ideal. Among their worst sources of interest (if not, the worst) is struggling Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias, who is in his walk year. Hiding behind his shining 2.99 career ERA is a rather shocking, career-high 4.97 ERA, to which he has pitched this season. He is still a strikeout pitcher, having accumulated 46 Ks in 41.2 innings, but his run prevention capabilities have seemingly deteriorated. It was only last season when Iglesias posted a stellar 1.95 ERA. Since then, his home run total doubled, from surrendering just four last year to eight so far this year. His opponent batting average has also jumped, from .160 to .250. Iglesias is no stranger to success. He threw to ERAs south of 3.00 in eight of his 11 MLB years. However, this season, he just doesn’t appear to have it. Any team that trades for Iglesias in the last year of his contract would be betting that he can return to elite form before the season is over. Taking a risk on a pitcher like Iglesias in his current condition, especially when there are several other more reliable arms on the market, would be ill-advised. And for the Cubs, who are in a win-now position, having secured one guaranteed year of Kyle Tucker, taking a gamble on Iglesias could easily risk everything they worked for this season.
Analyst has interesting rating for Knicks' tactical offseason
It hasn’t been the flashiest of offseasons for the New York Knicks, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been productive. After acquiring Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns last summer, the Knicks have toned it down a bit this time around, targeting key depth pieces for the second unit, which struggled mightily last season. So far, the Knicks have signed Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele to help beef up the team’s bench. These moves have been largely acclaimed by analysts and pundits as positive additions. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton is one of those who believe the Knicks made strong signings. He graded the Knicks’ offseason up to this point a "B," citing the value they’ve gotten for such a small price. “After adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns last offseason, the Knicks had limited room to maneuver this summer,” wrote Pelton. “Getting Guerschon Yabusele to take ever so slightly less than the entirety of their taxpayer midlevel exception allowed New York to upgrade its second-unit frontcourt and still fill out its bench with veteran minimum contracts. One of those veterans, Jordan Clarkson — signed after reaching a buyout with the Utah Jazz — gives the Knicks more athleticism off the bench than unsigned backup guards Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet.” Clarkson has been one of the NBA’s best bench scorers during the 2020s, leading the league in total points off the bench in that timeframe. This past season with the Jazz, he averaged 16.2 points per game while shooting 36 percent from three-point range. Yabusele was originally drafted in 2016 by the Boston Celtics, he would go on to play two seasons for them in limited minutes before departing overseas, where he remained until this past season with the Philadelphia 76ers. He would go on to have a career year with the 76ers, averaging 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 70 appearances (43 starts).
Former Packers Star Already Experiencing Issues With New Team
The Green Bay Packers decided to cut cornerback Jaire Alexander last month, a rather frustrating move considering the Packers didn’t really have much of an answer to replace him. One of the primary reasons Green Bay released Alexander was because of his inability to stay healthy, as the two-time Pro Bowler played in just 14 games over the last two seasons and 34 over the last four. He refused to take a pay cut, and the Packers did not feel justified paying that much money for a guy who was rarely on the field. Well, Green Bay was kind of validated in its decision to move on from Alexander in training camp, as the 28-year-old is already sidelined in Baltimore Ravens camp due to swelling in his knee, via Jason B. Hirschhorn of The Leap. Alexander is going to have his knee drained and is expected to practice on Tuesday, but the fact that he is already experiencing injury issues in Baltimore is evidence that the Packers made the right move. Of course, it would have been nice if Green Bay cut Alexander back in March rather than in June, as it would have given the team a better opportunity to add another cornerback, either via free agency or the NFL Draft. Yes, the Packers signed Nate Hobbs, but the general consensus at the time was that he was being added to play alongside of Alexander; not to replace him. Green Bay has very limited proven depth at the position, and had the Packers known for sure they would be parting ways with Alexander earlier in the offseason, perhaps they would have been more inclined to bring in another corner. When healthy, Alexander is terrific. During his last healthy campaign in 2022, he racked up 56 tackles, five interceptions and 14 passes defended en route to a Pro Bowl appearance, but that’s just the thing: it’s rare that the former first-round pick isn’t dealing with some sort of injury.
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