Odell Beckham Jr. appears set to part ways with the Baltimore Ravens. On March 13, the AFC North team will release the seasoned wide receiver “before midnight ET.”
That’s what Dan Graziano of ESPN says. He clarified that because “Beckham and the Ravens restructured his deal in January, eliminating the void years and allowing the team to use post-June 1 on him,” he will be considered a post-June 1 cut.
There’s more to the decision. Namely, a way for the Ravens to save money and avoid a hefty hit against this year’s salary cap.
As Graziano noted, “if Beckham is on the Ravens’ roster March 14 (tomorrow), the $50 million 2025 salary would become fully guaranteed.” Even though the Ravens will still absorb a fair chunk of dead-cap cash, Graziano also detailed how under Beckham’s original deal, “the remaining years would have voided and the Ravens would have taken an $11.068 million cap hit.”
The Ravens are smart to avoid paying those tabs. Beckham hardly dominated playing on a contract worth $15 million last season.
He snagged just 35 receptions and scored a mere three touchdowns. The Ravens got more production from rookie wideout Zay Flowers and greater consistency from veteran Nelson Agholor.
Beckham was expected to be the go-to receiver for franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson. Things didn’t work out that way, with Flowers taking the lead, while Beckham made just six starts.
It didn’t help that OBJ went missing late in the season. The former New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams playmaker caught just four passes during his final three games in the regular season, per Pro Football Reference.
Beckham was just as much of a non-factor in the playoffs. He tallied four catches from seven targets in two postseason games.
The lack of production meant the Ravens would have been reckless to keep a receiver who still has a market value projected by Spotrac.com as $11.9 million for this year.
There are those who believe Beckham “still has more left in the tank,” including NFL on DAZN.
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