Odell Beckham Jr. Rumors: Jets Were ‘Hoping for a Bargain-Basement’ Contract

The Baltimore Ravens reportedly thwarted the New York Jets’ plans for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in a big way.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported the AFC East team was hoping to land the veteran with a “bargain-basement deal” that could have featured “a low base coupled with high upside.” Yet the Ravens gave Beckham “an offer far exceeding whatever the Jets or anyone else was willing to pay.”

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the AFC North team gave him a one-year, $15 million deal that can increase to $18 million with incentives.

To say the Jets and Ravens are in different positions when it comes to wide receivers would be an understatement.

New York already has Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman Jr. and Corey Davis, who would all be go-to options in Baltimore’s offense. That means the Ravens were surely more willing to pay up to land someone like Beckham, and Florio pointed out it might have cost more to convince him to join an offense that revolves around the rushing attack.

Baltimore’s wide receivers were last in the league in yards in three of the past four years, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, underscoring how difficult it is for receivers to put up numbers in that offense.

Then there is the Lamar Jackson factor.

Baltimore placed the non-exclusive tag on the quarterback this offseason, and the two sides still haven’t come to terms on a long-term deal. Perhaps signing someone like Beckham could help convince him to stay, and the team didn’t exactly dispel that notion when it shared an image of the two FaceTiming after the contract news:

Still, there are a number of question marks when it comes to Beckham.

The 30-year-old missed the entire 2022 season with a torn ACL, which was the second time he suffered such an injury. Yes, he was a Pro Bowler with more than 1,300 receiving yards and double-digit touchdown catches in each of his first three seasons with the New York Giants, but it has been some time since that version of Beckham was on the field.

He struggled to find that form with the Cleveland Browns from 2019-2021, although he was better with the Los Angeles Rams before suffering the injury.

Ultimately, Baltimore weighed the concerns with the potential and decided to offer him much more than the Jets.