After spending the 2023 season with the Baltimore Ravens, the All-Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is set to become a free agent next week. While Beckham Jr. has been one of the premier superstars in the league, the end of his current contract has made the WR’s future uncertain.
The Ravens have recently announced that they are releasing Beckham with a post-June 1 designation. This sudden move has left fans wondering why the team made such a surprising decision.
What is the reason behind Ravens cutting Odell Beckham Jr.?
Earlier reports indicated that Odell Beckham Jr. was in the final year of his contract, with a deadline of March 14 to sign an extension. Otherwise, he would be released. Recent confirmation has revealed that the Baltimore Ravens have opted not to retain Beckham, making him a free agent.
Now, the question is, after making him one of the most expensive players on the roster last year, why has the team decided to release him? The answer is quite simple, he couldn’t live up to expectations of the Ravens. While overall the team’s performance was good in the last season and even in the playoffs, the individual performance of the WR wasn’t up to the mark.
After the Ravens signed him with a one-year, $18 million deal, he finished the campaign with just 35 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns. Probably, it was his ACL injury that affected his performance. However, the team is no longer interested in giving him more chances. Even the former head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta were not ready to bring Odell Beckham Jr. back.
The team had an exceptional season last year and has also added former Titans TE Derrick Henry to their roster for the upcoming season, leaving no space for Beckham.
After his release, Odell Beckham Jr.’s dead-money charge wouldn’t go away, but such a move would help the Ravens’ offseason budget, pushing just $2.8 million onto the 2024 cap and $8.0 million onto the 2025 cap. If the team hadn’t decided to release the WR, he would have become worth $50 million with a new extension.
What are the potential landing spots for Odell Beckham Jr.?
While Odell Beckham Jr.’s performance declined last year, he will still be a highly sought-after player. The three-time Pro Bowler still has the potential to prove himself and isn’t planning to retire anytime soon, which means soon after hitting the free agency, he will be on the lookout for a new team.
Josina Anderson of CBS Sports suggested some potential landing spots for the WR. First is the back-to-back Super Bowl Champions, the Chiefs. Other teams that she suggested are the New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers, who lost the 2023 Super Bowl to the Chiefs.
She emphasized that Beckham still has the potential and one of these teams could be interested in signing him to improve their offense, per the 49ers WebZone.
“But when it’s pressure time in the postseason, and it’s ‘down and gotta have it’ he’ll catch the pressure ball like he did to earn himself a ring in LA.”
Odell Beckham Jr.’s last 1,000-yard season was in 2019 with the Cleveland Browns. Since then, he had only one regular-season game in which he scored over 100 receiving yards. He missed the entire 2022 season because of an ACL injury and his performance in the 2023 season declined. However, OBJ still played in the playoffs with the Ravens.
Odell Beckham Jr. remains to be considered a highly talented player and will soon sign with a new team for the 2024 season.
