Odell Beckham Jr., a former Giants receiver, was contemplating retirement after sustaining a serious knee injury in 2021, the year the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI.
He admitted to The Athletic that he is going into this season “thinking like this is my last year.”
In the second quarter of the team’s Super Bowl triumph at SoFi Stadium, Beckham injured his left knee while attempting to make a catch.
Only a year had passed since the same knee suffered an ACL tear in a game when he was still playing for the Browns.
A day after his girlfriend Lauren Wood gave birth to a boy and a few days after the Super Bowl victory, Beckham underwent surgery to repair his ACL and meniscus.
As Beckham noted, the rehab had a negative impact on his mental and emotional health because he was unable to assist with the care of his infant son.
Beckham, 30, was dependent on his mother for care.
“I couldn’t hold him, cradle him or love on him the way I wanted to,” he said. “It was a lot. It was hard.”
At that time the star receiver, best known for his memorable catch with the Giants in 2014, thought his career could be coming to an end.
“I went through a lot the last couple of years, and I thought it was over,” Beckham said. “I didn’t want to get back up on the horse and do the same song and dance all over again.”
The receiver eventually started to turn a turnaround and reengage the Rams, but it soon became evident that he wouldn’t be going back to Los Angeles because of cap restrictions with the reigning champions.
Despite interest from the Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs, Beckham ultimately decided to sit out the 2022 season.
The Jets joined the fray in the spring as teams continued to be interested in recruiting him.
After the Baltimore Ravens made a compelling case for him at the Arizona owner’s meetings, Beckham eventually agreed to a one-year contract with them. Ravens owner Stephen Bisciotti and quarterback Lamar Jackson also participated in the negotiations.
Baltimore, though, wasn’t the veteran’s first choice.
“If I’m honest, I was resistant,” Beckham said about signing with the Ravens. “There were other places I wanted to go. I wasn’t necessarily a Ravens fan because the Ravens always whipped my ass.”
Beckham will be part of a Ravens team that is expected to be a title contender and boasts one of the NFL’s top QB’s in Jackson.
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The star receiver is headed into the year focused on playing at his best in what could end up being his last season.
“I’m thinking like this is my last year,” Beckham said. “I’m going to give it my all this year. And then if something happens after that, we can go from there.”
Odell Beckham Jr. showing off the beautiful limited edition Virgil Abloh Maybach
The NFL great Odell Beckham Jr. is known for making dramatic catches on the field, but he has also recently displayed flair off it. The gifted wide receiver used Instagram to show off his limited-edition Virgil Abloh Maybach to the app’s 17.2 million users.
Only 150 of the Virgil Abloch Maybach S680 were produced and they went on sale last month. According to NotJustOk.com, it was discovered that a unit of the car costs between $500K and $600K.
The Ravens wideout hanging out with his new ride.
Beckham Jr. will be playing for the Baltimore Ravens this upcoming season after suffering an ACL injury in Super Bowl 56 with the Los Angeles Rams. He missed the entire 2022 season and was a coveted free agent before being signed by the Ravens last month.
OBJ stepped out and sat in his new ride.
Before playing with the Rams last season, Odell Beckham Jr. played 29 games spanning three seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He started out playing for the New York Giants, spending the first five seasons with the franchise.
Lamar Jackson, who recently signed a significant contract extension with Baltimore, will be delivering passes to Beckham Jr. The former LSU star hopes to become Jackson’s second wide receiver to have a season with 1,000 yards of receptions. The final player with 1,008 yards in the 2021 season was Marquise Brown.
How much will Odell Beckham Jr. make in the 2023 season?
The 30-year-old signed a one-year deal worth up to $18 million with the Ravens which included $13.835 million guaranteed at signing. A great season in 2023 could see Odell Beckham Jr. get a multi-year contract.
According to Spotrac, his market is a four-year deal worth almost $51 million.
Fans will see if the receiver can get back into form, helping Jackson and the Ravens make some noise in the 2023 season.