Odell Beckham Jr. chooses Baltimore Ravens over Chiefs, other suitors

The Baltimore Ravens have won the Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes as the veteran wideout signed with the team on Sunday.

The choices for a veteran addition at wide receiver are really dwindling at this point for the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s now especially true after news broke on Sunday night that the Baltimore Ravens have officially won the sweepstakes to sign Odell Beckham Jr. in free agency.

NFL reporter Ian Rapoport has word that the Ravens won out over other suitors, including the Chiefs, for Beckham’s services.

The Chiefs were rumored to be involved with Beckham since last fall, with at least some level of interest, but the failure to come to a deal likely stems from the Chiefs having some sort of hard line on a contract. Other teams were also rumored to be interested, including the Dallas Cowboys, but they recently traded for Brandin Cooks and few suitors were left. The New York Jets also showed interest in recent days.

As for the Ravens, they have struggled to develop wide receivers and Rashod Bateman has stated his displeasure with the team’s offense even as they are wrestling with what to do with quarterback Lamar Jackson for the long-term.

There is a Chiefs connection with Beckham in Baltimore and that’s Greg Lewis, a former Chiefs assistant coach who took the WR coaching role with Baltimore this offseason.

As for the Chiefs’ future plans at wide receiver, they have Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Kadarius Toney already in-house and rumors will persist about the team and DeAndre Hopkins until Hopkins finds a new home like Beckham. The team is still likely to address some level of need at the position in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft, to be held in K.C. at the end of the month.