NFL insider alleges Lamar Jackson DEMANDED the Ravens to sign both Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins
Well renowned NFL insider Michael Lombardi talked about the situation in his podcast.
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The Baltimore Ravens surprised a lot of people last week by signing the free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a massive one-year deal worth up to $18 million. According to the NFL insider Michael Lombardi, the OBJ signing was the result of the Ravens QB Lamar Jackson demanding the franchise to acquire both Beckham Jr. and the Arizona Cardinals star wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
The Ravens are having a tough time convincing the former league MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson to stay in Baltimore. After months and months of failed contract talks, the Ravens placed Jackson under the non-exclusive franchise tag after the QB requested a trade in early March. However, to Lamar’s surprise, no team in the league showed interest in signing the Pro Bowl QB.
Teams are reportedly not willing to sign Lamar Jackson due to injury concerns and the QB’s contract demands. Lamar, who represents himself, is allegedly asking for a fully guaranteed contract in the pay grade of the Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson. However, teams are afraid to give fully guaranteed money to the Ravens QB who has missed 10 games in the last two regular seasons.
Amidst this situation, the well-renowned NFL insider Michael Lombardi says Lamar Jackson gave an ultimatum to the Ravens to sign the two-star pass catchers Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins.
The Ravens acquired Odell Beckham Jr. at the behest of Lamar Jackson
During a recent episode of the podcast The Lombardi Line, the former New England Patriots coaching assistant Michael Lombardi shared that Lamar Jackson made a clear point about wanting a number 1 wide receiver.
“I was told reliably by somebody who’s involved that Lamar told them in a conversation, ‘Get Hopkins and get Beckham, and then we can talk.’ The club went back to them and said look, we can’t get Hopkins and Beckham. We just can’t afford both, but we’ll get one of them – and they got Beckham,” Lombardi said on his podcast, The Lombardi Line. ” So, What I think the Ravens decided was, ‘Okay, we can get Beckham.’ And I think that’s why you see the overpayment for Beckham.”
DeAndre Hopkins is still under contract with the Arizona Cardinals. The Ravens might’ve had to give up some draft capital to acquire Hopkins, but the 3-time Pro Bowl receiver OBJ was a free agent, and that played perfectly for the Ravens.
Lamar Jackson was seemingly happy about the Ravens adding Odell Beckham Jr. The former All-Pro QB was spotted with the former Los Angeles Rams wideout just in the LIV nightclub just hours after the signing.
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Aravind Raj
(2075 Articles Published)