Odell Beckham Jr. signs with Ravens ahead of NY Jets meeting

Beckham Jr. was set to meet with the NY Jets on Monday but goes to the Ravens instead

So much for all the Odell Beckham Jr. talk for the New York Jets.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Beckham is signing with the Ravens on a one-year deal worth up to $18 million.

Earlier reports indicated that Beckham was going to meet with the Jets on Monday. He was set to undergo a physical and discuss his role within the offense. Instead, he decided to go after the sure money.

The #Jets had planned to host Odell Beckham Jr on a visit starting tonight. Baltimore stepped up with money. Now he’s a member of the #Ravens. https://t.co/o68vdU4f8h

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 9, 2023

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the contract includes $15 million guaranteed and $3 million in incentives. Beckham receives a signing bonus of $13.835 million and a base salary of $1.165.

More details on Odell Beckham Jr.‘s one-year deal with the #Ravens:

$13.835 million signing bonus
$1.165 million base salary
$3M in reachable incentives

So OBJ will make at least $15 million and as much as $18M on the deal negotiated by agent Zeke Sandhu. https://t.co/z6S8tkjvP1

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 9, 2023

It is likely that Beckham will have a better chance to reach any incentives in Baltimore. Their receiving corps is significantly thinner than the Jets’. However, the biggest wild card is who will be throwing him the ball. Lamar Jackson has requested a trade from the Ravens, and their situation remains at a standstill.

WR room questions

The removal of Beckham from the market leaves the Jets in a bit of a quandary. After having traded Elijah Moore, their current corps stands at Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman, and Denzel Mims.

Davis was presumed to be the odd man out, but as of now, he is likely the second-best receiver on the Jets’ roster. As Michael Nania explained earlier, the Jets could keep both Davis and Lazard and have a very strong core four at receiver.

Still, with Davis’ tendency toward injury, there are some lingering question marks in the Jets’ receiving corps. Will they try to pivot toward DeAndre Hopkins, target Jaxon Smith-Njigba with the No. 13 pick in the draft, try to sign or draft a lower-level target, or stand pat with what they have?

The other question is what Aaron Rodgers thinks about all this. Beckham was on the wish list that Rodgers gave the Jets. Although he insisted that it was not a demand list, he clearly wanted to play with OBJ. Is he comfortable with the Jets’ receiving weapons as currently constituted?

This is the second time in a few weeks that a player skipped a meeting with the Jets in favor of signing with a different team. Calais Campbell previously did so with the Falcons.

The Jets will move on without OBJ. It will be interesting to see what their next plan is at wide receiver.