The Ravens have landed a star wide receiver, as Odell Beckham Jr. officially signed his one-year deal Thursday.
The two sides came to an agreement on Easter Sunday and Beckham flew to Baltimore three days later.
Beckham was the most prominent free agent wide receiver available this offseason, and the biggest-name wideout the Ravens have attracted in free agency in quite some time.
According to reports, it's essentially a $15 million deal worth up to $18 million, with a base salary of $1.165 million in 2023 to fit under the Ravens' tight salary-cap restrictions. The New York Jets were reportedly set to host Beckham on a free-agent visit Sunday night.
His addition is a significant boost for Baltimore's receiving attack, as he pairs with Rashod Bateman, fellow free-agent addition Nelson Agholor, Devin Duvernay and more, along with premier tight end Mark Andrews.
Beckham, 30, is a three-time Pro Bowler (2014-2016) who was atop the NFL earlier in his career when he topped 1,300 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns each of his first three seasons.
He's entering his ninth season after missing all of last year due to a knee injury suffered in Super Bowl LVI, which he helped win with the Los Angeles Rams. During that postseason run, he recorded 21 catches for 288 yards (12.6 avg.) and two touchdowns in four games.
The question with Beckham over the past year has been about his health, but he held a private workout for teams about a month ago, which was attended by a dozen teams, including the Ravens. Baltimore has been linked to Beckham for more than a year, and Head Coach John Harbaugh has said he was in touch with him at various times.
Beckham played for new Ravens Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken in Cleveland in 2019. It was his last 1,000-yard season, as he hauled in 74 catches for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns. After Monken was hired, he talked about how much he likes Beckham.
"OK, I really like Odell. Odell is super athletic, twitchy. [He] really likes football. I really did [like him]," Monken said. "I think he's tremendously skilled, and I like his personality. He likes to compete."
Ravens players and many more around the sports landscape gave the move their thumbs up, most notably, Lamar Jackson. On social media, Jackson liked an Instagram post from Beckham with his child, Zydn, wearing a Jackson Ravens jersey. The two also seemingly quickly connected on FaceTime.
