AP Photo/Gail Burton
As the Baltimore Ravens go through mandatory minicamp this week, star quarterback Lamar Jackson is getting his first chance to work with his new receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and he’s been impressed so far.
“Odell is a legend to a lot of us [with] what he did early in his career and the past year [2021 season] when he was with the Rams,” Jackson said Wednesday, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “Odell is him, one of those guys.”
Beckham, who signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Ravens in April, is practicing for the first time since suffering a torn ACL 16 months ago in Super Bowl LVI when he was a member of the Rams. He sat out the entire 2022 season while he remained unsigned. Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Tuesday that Beckham is a “full go” health-wise, but his practice reps will still be limited during minicamp.
When asked about his initial thoughts on throwing to the three-time Pro Bowler, Jackson noted how “smooth” Beckham is in practice and said he ran “crisp routes” and had “great hands.”
Beckham is entering a situation where he’s the clear-cut No. 1 receiver, as Baltimore didn’t have a player record 900 receiving yards last season. Tight end Mark Andrews led the team with 847 yards, and he was the only player on the team with more than 500 yards.
The 30-year-old acknowledged that he’s in a different role than he’s accustomed to as the veteran in the receivers room, but he’s embracing it.
“Guys come up to you, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I remember watching you in middle school,'” Beckham said. “And it’s like … they start to make you feel old, and I think I know what my role will be, as far as coming out and being able to show it every day and being able to lead.”
