Odell Beckham Jr. signed a one-year agreement with the Baltimore Ravens in April 2023, but it is expected that the AFC North team would not offer the NFL veteran a new contract.
Despite helping the Baltimore Ravens win the AFC North, Odell Beckham Jr. may soon find himself without a team.
The great wide receiver signed a one-year contract with the Ravens in April 2023 and helped lead the team to the AFC Championship game in January. The 31-year-old appeared in 14 games last season, starting six.
He collected 35 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns, ranking second on the team. However, he set a personal high of 16.1 yards per catch.
However, his performance did not meet expectations, prompting ESPN to speculate that the Ravens are unlikely to offer him a new contract. It is believed that the Ravens are looking for another veteran wide receiver, and many scouts have suggested Michael Thomas as a possible replacement.
Thomas, the Offensive Player of the Year in 2019, has been with the New Orleans Saints since his NFL debut in 2016. However, his revised deal is coming to an end, and he will become a free agent. Thomas appeared in ten games for the Saints in 2023, totaling 39 catches for 448 yards and one score as they finished second in the NFC South behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Thomas, a former top wide receiver in the league, has recently suffered with injuries. He appeared in only seven games in 2020 and missed all of 2021 due to an ankle ailment. In 2022, he was limited to only three games due to a foot injury sustained during a game against the Carolina Panthers in week three.
He began his career spectacularly, catching more than 1,100 yards in four consecutive seasons. The Ravens are hopeful that Thomas can regain his form if he joins their team. However, they are unlikely to ask him to be the focal point of their offense, as he was for the Saints at times.
With guys like Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews on the club, Thomas will not face as many double teams. With a top quarterback like Lamar Jackson ready to send the ball to Wilson, this may be a wonderful move. The Ravens also want Thomas to be a leader in the locker room, as Beckham Jr. was last season.
Team officials commended the 2022 Super Bowl winner for his great impact on his teammates, particularly younger receivers like as Flowers and Rashod Bateman. After their season ended in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, Beckham Jr discussed his future plans.
“To me, if there is anything I felt about myself — regardless of anybody’s opinion or anything like that — is that I know that I can still play football, and I know that I still have s— in the tank,” he went on to say. “As far as my future, [I’ll] just take a step back, breathe for a second, pick [my] chin up, just know that life goes on, and we’ll figure out what’s next after that.”
Leave a Reply