“It’s about the money” - Former Patriots player claims Odell Beckham Jr. doesn’t care about whether Lamar Jackson shows up
Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the Baltimore Ravens last week and many believe that could be a driving force to retain Lamar Jackson. The 26-year-old quarterback, who asked the Ravens for a trade earlier this offseason, could be more inclined to play for the team next season if he has a big offensive weapon. Some have even said that they believe that OBJ signed with the Ravens so that he can play with Lamar Jackson.
But, former New England Patriots outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich said on ESPN's "Get Up" on Wednesday morning, that he doesn't believe it has anything to do with Lamar Jackson.
"Can we relax on the whole OBJ, Lamar? Now that OBJ that they just gave OBJ, what, $15 million? Fully guaranteed. And Harry just talked about it. It's about the money. Nobody else was going to give him that much money, fully guaranteed. So he goes to the Ravens to make the money. If Lamar's there, great. But if you're Lamar, how many years has he been trying to get a big contract, a big deal? And last year, look, at one point they had Hollywood Brown, they traded him away."
Ninkovich believes that the wide receiver only signed with the Baltimore Ravens because they offered him $15 million on a one-year deal. And, considering no other NFL team was willing to offer him that much money.
With the OBJ addition, the Ravens offense could be a major problem this season 😈 https://t.co/ldHR4exYdh
The 39-year-old continued by saying that Beckham doesn't increase the Ravens' chances of making a Super Bowl run next season. He said that signing and retaining Lamar Jackson and giving him the money he wants would increase their chances of playing for a Super Bowl.
"They've had good receivers there in the past. So for me, OBJ does not make this team a Super Bowl team right now. They have a lot of other pieces. Number one being Lamar, they need to figure out Lamar and if you're Lamar, you're not sitting there like, oh, I just wanted $200 million. Oh, we just signed a 30 plus year old receiver with two ACL tears. I'll come back. Yeah, No, that doesn't work that way." - Rob Ninkovich on ESPN's Get Up
Whether signing OBJ does encourage Lamar Jackson to return to the Baltimore Ravens or not remains to be seen.
Are the Colts still interested in trading for QB Lamar Jackson?
It's no secret that the Indianapolis Colts are in search of a new quarterback. The team just parted ways with Matt Ryan this offseason after the trade for the quarterback went sour early on in the 2022 NFL season. When it became apparent that Lamar Jackson wanted a trade out of Baltimore, the Colts were expected to be the team with the most interest.
"What if the Colts stay at four and take Will Anderson..
Then they trade whatever it takes to go out and get Lamar Jackson" ~ @Espngreeny
It makes TOO much sense #PMSLive https://t.co/Ug3FXsQGwI
And, that came to fruition as the Colts did their due diligence in pondering a trade for the Jackson. When asked about a possible trade with Baltimore, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard essentially said that they had to consider the possibility since the quarterback is such a good player.
“Anytime a special player is available, which he is, you’ve got to do the work.”
But, after the Colts attendance at pro days across the country looking at some of the top quarterback prospects, it appears that they will make their move in the NFL draft.