Desperate Times in B’more

The Ravens vowed to fix their wide receiver room this offseason. First they reported that Rashod Bateman was recovering quite nicely and is on schedule to be a full participant during training camp. Then they added Nelson Agholor to the mix. And now the trifecta, Odell Beckham, Jr.

Beckham, combined with a healthy Bateman and Agholor certainly changes the look of wide receiver coach Greg Lewis’ pass catching corps. If Beckham returns to form and Bateman can play a full season, mix in a healthy J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, more seasoned second-year players like Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, and of course Mark Andrews, that’s a formidable group for new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

But at what cost?

Lamar Jackson’s contract status and the stranglehold his $32.4M franchise tag price has on the team’s salary cap, has forced the Ravens to employ voidable option years in order to re-sign some players and bring on others, like Beckham. They’ve given in to a strategy that they’ve tried to avoid – kicking the salary cap can down the road. One day, they’ll have to pay the price.

Assuming 4 added void yrs to reach the max proration of 5 yrs, OBJ will have a 2023 Cap # of $3.932M. HOWEVER, if so, and if he is not extended before the 2024 season, he will count as $11.068M in dead money on the 2024 Cap. Oh boy. https://t.co/ooIS2T5zY7

— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) April 10, 2023

Beckham has played in just 21 of 33 regular season games (64%) during the 2020 and 2021 campaigns. And of course he missed the entire 2022 season. That alone makes it a long shot that Beckham can participate in a full slate of games this coming season. Making matters seem even more desperate, the Ravens have guaranteed Beckham $15M, with another $3M in incentives. From what I’ve been told, that’s about $8M more than other teams were willing to guarantee the 2021 Super Bowl Champion pass catcher.

Maybe that’s why he agreed to terms with the Ravens.

This isn’t typical behavior for the Ravens. It feels like a desperate move. It feels like a move that the Cleveland Browns might make. And when you factor in Lamar’s contract status, it makes the move all the more curious.

Does signing Beckham make it more enticing for Lamar to sign the relatively dusty deal that sits on the conference room table? Probably not. If anything, as curious as his behavior has been over the past 18 months or so, you have to admit that Lamar has shown resolve. Signing Beckham doesn’t weaken that resolve. And it could strengthen it.

Beckham agreed to the deal with the Ravens not knowing who the quarterback is going to be in 2023. As it stands today, the only QB on the roster is Anthony Brown. That’s a risky move for a receiver looking to re-establish himself in the league. And that in part probably explains the hefty guaranteed amount. If the Jets were truly an option for Beckham and Aaron Rodgers is a certain roster addition for Gang Green, incentives would be more achievable in the Big Apple for Beckham and therefore, it would lighten the load on the guaranteed number and the salary cap in 2023.

But the Ravens don’t have that luxury.

One might even make the argument that the Beckham signing gives Lamar an extra bargaining chip. How silly might the Ravens look, a cap-strapped team, by giving Beckham $15M guaranteed while Brown is his battery mate?

On the plus side, the move potentially threatens opposing defenses, assuming Lamar’s return. It also gives the Ravens some flexibility on draft day. They don’t have to feel the pressure of reaching for need. They can go with their tried-and-true, best player available.

It was reported, even shared by the player himself, that the Ravens were close to signing veteran corner Darius Slay before he agreed to return to Philadelphia. That may indicate that bringing back Marcus Peters isn’t a high priority. It also indicates that the Ravens want to add to the position – one that is said to be bountiful in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Ravens have long been proponents of entering the draft without an obvious need so that they can stick to their board. But if I was a betting man, a CB will be pick No. 1.

At the end of the day, only time will tell if the Ravens’ signing of Beckham will be a winning strategy. We can only hope. But for now, it looks like an act of desperation from a team that traditionally has been anything but desperate.

[Beckham to Baltimore: Knee Jerk Reactions]

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