New Ravens star Odell Beckham Jr. says he ‘didn’t get any assurances’ Lamar Jackson will be back

Odell Beckham Jr. was partying with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in Miami after agreeing to a deal with Baltimore last week, but the free agent recipient has no idea if the former MVP will be back with the club this year.

“I didn’t get any guarantees about anything, you know life is uncertain,” Beckham said at his opening press conference in Baltimore on Thursday. “I think we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We only know what happened in the past.’

Beckham, 30, recently agreed to a one-year, $18 million deal with the Ravens that reportedly includes $15 million in guarantees. He and Jackson celebrated the deal on Sunday when they were pictured together at Miami nightclub LIV.

Despite Beckham’s “welcome party,” Jackson’s presence in Baltimore in 2023 is far from certain. The former Heisman Trophy winner requested a trade last month, saying the team was “not interested in meeting my worth.”

On March 7, the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, saying they still hoped they could sign a long-term deal with him.

Jackson asked for a trade outside of Baltimore, and teams can still offer him contracts

“As of March 2, I requested a trade from the Ravens organization for which the Ravens were not interested in my worth,” Jackson said on Twitter. “Anyone who has met me or been around me knows that I love football and that my dream is to help a team win the Super Bowl.”

Jackson may not need a trade to join a new team. The non-exclusive franchise tag allows him to negotiate with other clubs. However, it also gives Baltimore a chance to honor any agreement it makes. The decision to make the trade request public could be an attempt to keep the Ravens from matching another team’s offer – or an attempt to generate more interest from other teams by stating that he wants out of Baltimore.

If Jackson makes a deal with another team and the Ravens don’t match, that team would owe Baltimore two first-round draft picks.

But staying in Baltimore may be Jackson’s best and only option.

“We decided five years ago to go with Lamar Jackson,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday at the NFL owner meetings in Phoenix, shortly after reporters informed him that Jackson had revealed on March 2 that he was seeking a. requested an exchange. ‘Why? Because we love him. We like the way he plays. We like his mentality. We love his charisma, his style. As he is in the locker room. Everything about him, we love him. I personally love him. I love being the coach of the team he plays for. That’s what you do. You build a team around your players, and that’s what I like to do.’

Odell Beckham Jr (L) and Lamar Jackson (R, white hat) were spotted out on the town in Miami

If the two sides cannot agree on a long-term deal by July 17, Jackson could play at the $32.4 million franchise title this season.

And if it does, Harbaugh will get at least one season of Jackson pitching to Beckham, and three Pro Bowl selections.

Despite winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams at the end of the 2021 season, Beckham had his greatest individual success with New York. He was the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year and played for the Giants through 2018 before being traded to the Cleveland Browns. The deal came less than a year after LSU product signed a $90 million extension with New York.

He also made his most iconic catch with the Giants: a one-handed falling touchdown catch against the Cowboys in 2014.

Beckham tore his ACL in both the 2020 and ’21 season. He also missed most of the 2017 season after breaking an ankle in early October.