Odell Beckham Jr. Says He Didn't Get Assurances Lamar Jackson Would Be Ravens QB

The Baltimore Ravens' decision to sign wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is anything but a guarantee Lamar Jackson will suit up for the team this season.

Just ask Beckham himself.

"Didn't get any assurance for anything," the wide receiver told reporters Thursday. "Life's uncertain. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or the next day."

However, he added that "my thoughts would be, he would be here" and said, "The goal was to come here and have that possibility of playing with him."

There may not be any assurances, but there was at least some communication between Beckham and Jackson:

Still, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler appeared on SportsCenter shortly after Baltimore signed the wide receiver and said there is "still no momentum" on the Jackson contract front even if he now has a three-time Pro Bowler to throw to should he return.

If nothing else, that addition at least figures to be a long-term positive in the Jackson discussions considering the wide receiver group of Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, Devin Duvernay and Tylan Wallace doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in terms of game-changing pass-catchers.

The situation involving Jackson and the Ravens remains one of the offseason's biggest storylines.

The team placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, which means he can negotiate with other clubs but Baltimore can match any offers he receives. If the AFC North squad doesn't match the offer, it will get two first-round picks in return.

Yet there has been a rather jarring lack of public interest in Jackson from the rest of the league this offseason, so the situation hasn't changed much. He even revealed on March 27 that he requested a trade on March 2.

Perhaps Beckham can help generate some missing momentum in contract discussions on both sides, although he comes with his own set of question marks.

He is coming off a torn ACL that forced him to miss the 2022 season. He also was nowhere near the receiver he was early in his career on the New York Giants when he played for the Cleveland Browns for parts of three seasons from 2019 to 2021 and will turn 31 years old this season.

There are no assurances Jackson will be in Baltimore, and there are also no assurances Beckham will be particularly effective as a game-changing wide receiver.