New Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said Thursday that he’s “excited” about the prospect of playing with Lamar Jackson, but that the star quarterback made no assurances that they’d team up in Baltimore this season.

Beckham, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who finalized his one-year, $15 million contract before his introductory news conference in Owings Mills, called and hung out with Jackson in Florida after agreeing to a deal Sunday. Jackson has spoken with the Ravens since making his trade request last month, general manager Eric DeCosta said Thursday, but he can still negotiate offer sheets with other teams after being designated with the nonexclusive franchise tag.

Beckham said Thursday that “the goal was to come here and have that possibility to play” with Jackson, but deferred to DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh when asked about his expectations of the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player returning to Baltimore.

“I didn’t get any assurances for anything” from Jackson, Beckham said. “Life’s uncertain. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, the next day. We only know what’s happened in the past, so to me, it just was — excited about the possibility of that [playing with Jackson]. My thoughts would be that he would be here. I know that these two want him to be here. And at the end of the day, that’s going to be up to him.”

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Jim Harbaugh (left), Odell Beckham Jr. (center), announce officially joining the Baltimore Ravens, April 13, 2023.
John Harbaugh (left) and Odell Beckham Jr. (center) appear at a press conference on April 13, 2023. (Paul Newson/The Baltimore Banner)

DeCosta said he hasn’t spoken with Jackson since the Ravens agreed to a deal with Beckham, but he reiterated that Jackson “is in our plans. We love Lamar.”

He added: “Our feelings about Lamar have not changed one bit since the end of the season. We’re hopeful, still, that we’ll get a long-term deal done. He’s the right player for this team to lead us to where we want to be. I think the locker room knows that. The organization knows that. I think the fan base knows that. So it’s ongoing, but I can’t think of a situation where we wouldn’t think that our best team is with Lamar Jackson on the team in September.”

jonas.shaffer@thebaltimorebanner.com

The photo captions on this story have been updated to correct John Harbaugh’s name.

Jonas Shaffer

jonas.shaffer@thebaltimorebanner.com

Jonas Shaffer

Jonas Shaffer is a Ravens beat writer for The Baltimore Banner. He previously covered the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun. Shaffer graduated from the University of Maryland and grew up in Silver Spring.

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