What’s next for Odell Beckham Jr now that he’s been released by the Baltimore Ravens?
From one of the league’s most prolific pass catchers to out of the job. What does the future hold for the now former Ravens wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr?
With the pass catcher’s release, it can’t be denied that there is a credible player on the market. The question is whether a team in the league has space for a player who has titles on his resume and not just hype.
Ravens release Odell Beckham Jr.
According to reports on Wednesday, the Baltimore Ravens have released veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. with a post-June 1 designation. To be fair, the move does not come as a shock after ESPN reported the transaction earlier on Wednesday afternoon, however, the official take didn’t come until late on Wednesday night. If you didn’t know, Beckham had his contract restructured in January, a fact that saw the void years on his deal eliminated which in turn allowed the Ravens to use a post-June 1st cut on him.
To that end, the $1.21 million that the 31-year-old would have received in 2024 is no more, along with the guaranteed $50 million that he would have been due in 2025 were he still on the Ravens’ roster at midnight ET on Thursday. This is all to say that Beckham was likely always going to be released by the Ravens barring a situation where he renegotiated his contract with the francise. To put things in perspective, the highest-paid wide receiver in the league at the moment is the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill who pockets roughly $30 million a year. With that in mind, justifying a $50 million per annum salary for a player who has struggled with injuries, surgery, and is 32 years old becomes a hard sell.
Where the Ravens themselves are concerned, Beckham’s release results in $2.767 million in dead money counting against Baltimore’s salary cap this season and $9.301 million in dead money against the salary cap in 2025. To be clear, Beckham played in 14 games in one season with the Ravens last season. During that time, he caught 35 passes to the tune of 565 yards and three touchdowns. Ultimately, as prolific as he has been, that has not necessarily been the case in recent seasons. Now without a team to play for, the future looks uncertain for a player who was once regarded as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.