Steelers Opponents

OBJ Intro Press Conference Turns into Lamar Jackson Recruitment: ‘I Would Love to Get to Work With You’

Published

1 year ago

April 13, 2023

The post-signing press conference of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday turned into a full-blown recruiting pitch to have Lamar Jackson rejoin the Ravens and play with the veteran receiver.

Beckham, who is friends with Jackson, admitted during the press conference that part of his reasoning for signing with the Ravens, despite being courted by several other teams, was the idea of playing with his friend Jackson.

“The goal was to come here and have that possibly to play with him,” Beckham said. “I’m excited about that opportunity.”

Jackson talked to Beckham about signing with the Ravens, but he still remains unsigned after Baltimore put a non-exclusive franchise tag on the former NFL MVP. Jackson has not signed the tag, but has also failed to generate significant interest from another team that might get him out of Baltimore or cause the Ravens to move to match another team’s deal. Jackson has also requested a trade, but the Ravens don’t seem interested in moving on from him at this point.

Beckham said that he didn’t get any assurance that the Ravens were going to be able to sign Jackson before he agreed to the one-year contract with at least $15 and up to $18 million. The Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, Chicago Bears and New England Patriots were all interested in signing Beckham.

Now that he’s entrenched in Baltimore, he was not shy about expressing his desire to have his friend come play with him in Baltimore.

“Lamar, I don’t know if you’re watching,” Beckham said. “I would love to get to work with you.”