Baltimore Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. opens up on future plans, recovery from ACL injury

The prospect of another recovery for Odell Beckham Jr. seemed so daunting that he contemplated retirement.

And now that the veteran receiver has made it back, he is treating 2023 like it may be his last season, after he signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens in April.

"I’m thinking like this is my last year," Beckham told The Athletic in an article that published Monday. "I’m going to give it my all this year. And then if something happens after that, we can go from there."

Beckham admitted that he was considering stepping away from the NFL following his torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during Super Bowl 56 while playing for the Rams. Even though Los Angeles won, making him a Super Bowl champion, the difficulty came with confronting the same injury he suffered in October 2020, while a member of the Browns, to the same knee.

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

Beckham, 30, is now set to play with his fourth different team in six seasons. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and winner of the 2014 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, Beckham is now looking to revive his career with Baltimore and star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Beckahm told The Athletic that his knee never fully healed following the 2020 rupture, as scans showed that the ligament was not holding his knee together. Rams team physician Neal ElAttrache recommended that he undergo another surgery. Beckham, who had signed with the Rams in November 2021, declined and opted to play the season.

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Beckham didn't reveal the matter until later and told The Athletic that only quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Von Miller knew about the knee injury.

Beckham starred with the Rams, becoming an integral part of their offense despite joining the team late in the season. Then the injury happened.

Beckham would eventually sit out the entire 2022 season, despite some interest from teams looking to bolster their receiving corps prior to the playoffs.

In the end, Beckham weighed his options and even attended the NFL annual owners meetings in Arizona in March, where he met with Ravens executives.

"If I’m honest, I was resistant," Beckham said of Baltimore. "There were other places I wanted to go. I wasn’t necessarily a Ravens fan because the Ravens always whipped my ass."

Beckham, in eight seasons in the NFL, has caught 531 passes for 7,367 yards and 56 touchdowns.