Ravens' Odell Beckham Jr. on NFL Future: 'I'm Thinking Like This Is My Last Year'

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. isn't taking anything for granted when it comes to his future in the NFL after signing a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

"I'm thinking like this is my last year," he said to The Athletic's Dan Pompei. "I'm going to give it my all this year. And then if something happens after that, we can go from there."

The three-time Pro Bowler missed the entire 2022 season while recovering from a torn ACL, which was the second major knee injury of his pro career. He acknowledged going through the rehab process and being unable to play left him to question his desire to keep going on the field.

"I went through a lot the last couple of years, and I thought it was over," he said. "I didn't want to get back up on the horse and do the same song and dance all over again.

If everything goes according to plan, then 2023 presumably won't be Beckham's last year in the NFL.

During his spell with the Los Angeles Rams, the 30-year-old was an effective secondary target behind Cooper Kupp. He caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games and had 288 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the playoffs as the Rams won a Super Bowl.

Returning even to that level might be enough to entice a team to put a lucrative multiyear offer on the table next offseason, and turning down that opportunity would be difficult.

It might be a different story in the event Beckham skills have diminished further following his most recent ACL tear. Look how quickly the bottom has fallen out for Julio Jones, who remains a free agent after his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers expired.

Beckham didn't give any indication his retirement is a real possibility in 2024, but you can't blame him for making no assumptions about what lies ahead.