Lamar Jackson and the Ravens haven't been on the best of terms this offseason, but the team's decision to sign Odell Beckham Jr. on Sunday night might be the one thing that could help patch things up between Baltimore and its star QB.
Less than two hours after the signing became official, Jackson jumped on social media and gave his stamp of approval to the deal. In a post on Instagram, the Ravens quarterback shared a picture that showed him Facetiming with Beckham.
If you read the caption on Jackson's IG post, you'll notice that it includes three emojis, and those emojis -- two lightning bolts and a rocket ship -- would seem to indicate that the QB is entirely on board with the signing.
Beckham actually used Instagram to announce the deal on Sunday when he shared a photo of his son, Zydn, wearing a Ravens jersey that just happened to be Jackson's No. 8.
Jackson and Beckham have never been teammates, but they already seem close. A few hours after the deal was signed, the two were hanging out in Miami, according to NFL.com. In that same report, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media noted that Jackson recruited Beckham to Baltimore with the understanding that the Ravens quarterback in 2023 would "probably be Lamar."
The addition of Beckham could be exactly what the Ravens need to help thaw their relationship with Jackson. Things have been rocky between the two sides over the past month. On March 2, Jackson requested a trade out of Baltimore, although the trade request didn't become public until March 27. Five days after the trade demand, the team hit him with the franchise tag, which is something that Jackson wasn't thrilled with.
Things took another odd turn last week when the Ravens refused to answer any questions about Jackson during a pre-draft press conference.
The reason the addition of Beckham could serve as an icebreaker between the Ravens and their star QB is because Jackson clearly wanted this signing to happen. Not only did he recruit Beckham, but according to Jordan Schultz of The Score, the two players have had multiple conversations over the past month "about teaming up together and winning a Super Bowl with the Ravens."
Those last three words are the key ones in that sentence: WITH THE RAVENS. Since Lamar is allowed to negotiate with any team, he could have conspired with Beckham to try to end up in a place that's not Baltimore, but the two decided that the Ravens made the most sense.
Also, CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson has reported that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti hopes that Beckham's signing will help "square things" with Jackson. It seems that the Ravens are trying to get back in Jackson's good graces following an offseason of negotiations that didn't go anywhere.
Based on Jackson's initial reaction to the Beckham signing and the fact that they've already spent some time together, it seems pretty clear that Jackson is excited about possibly playing with OBJ, but the only way that will happen is if the quarterback signs a contract with the Ravens, which is something that now feels like it has a lot better chance of happening.
If Jackson ends up signing his franchise tag without getting a long-term deal in place, that means he'll make $32.4 million for the 2023 season.
