Lamar Jackson likes what he sees as Odell Beckham Jr returns to practice for first time since knee injury
It’s definitely a new sight — Lamar Jackson throwing to Odell Beckham Jr, with both wearing Ravens uniforms. They practiced for the first time together this week at Ravens minicamp. And there will be many more sessions before training camp starts next month.
For Beckham, he needed to get through the workouts to prove something to himself. He hadn’t been involved in any official team practices since he played for the Rams in 2021. Beckham tore his ACL in the Super Bowl in February, 2022. And he missed all of last fall.
“It feels good to be able to get out of bed and not feel pain,” Beckham told reporters earlier this week. “It feels good to feel like if I needed to take off running right now, I could take off running. It’s been a long journey this time around and it was its own process, so I just had to take that for what it was.”
The Ravens celebrated the new Lamar Jackson-Odell Beckham moment. Check out the video:
The 30-year-old signed with the Ravens in April, days before Jackson agreed to his $260 million contract that made him the highest paid player in the NFL. And the Ravens definitely are investing in more than their quarterback. The team also sports five former first-round wideouts, including Beckham, on this year’s roster.
It’s all to Lamar Jackson’s liking, especially seeing Odell Beckham Jr wearing purple.
“I think he looked pretty smooth,” Jackson said of OBJ’s return to team workouts. “Crisp routes, great hands. As everybody knows, he can catch the ball. He looked pretty good out there.”
And private workouts will continue. “I believe it’s very important just so we can keep our chemistry going, keep building our chemistry, because the season is right there,” the quarterback said. “The offseason is pretty much over with.”
Lamar Jackson’s first-round receiving crew
Nelson Agholor 2015
Rashod Bateman 2021
Odell Beckham Jr 2014
Zay Flowers 2023
Laquon Treadwell 2016
Jackson does love his receivers, including the five with first-round distinction. The team signed Zay Flowers, their first-rounder from April, before minicamp started.
“You don’t really care about the expectations,” Jackson said. It’s “just the guys have to get out there and do what they do. The reason they went [in the] first round [is because they] make those plays and stuff like that. And I believe we have the guys to do it.”
Jackson also used this minicamp to grow more comfortable with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. And coincidentally, Monken worked with Beckham when both were with the Browns.
Monken told reporters this week he still sees OBJ as “a tremendous football player, a guy that can separate and route run and loves to play and brings a certain amount of energy and juice and experience. And then, as we practice more together, as we get more together, now we try to fit it together. But he’s always going to be crafty. He’s always going to be able to find a way to separate.”