The Beckham Story with the Dolphins Angle

The Miami Dolphins will have to face the talented wide receiver in 2023, but at least he's not coming to the AFC East

The big story around the NFL on Easter Sunday involved wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. agreeing to terms with the Baltimore Ravens, meaning the Miami Dolphins will have to face him during the 2023 season.

Looking at it from that angle, though, Beckham going to Baltimore isn't so bad considering he had a meeting scheduled with the New York Jets on Monday and now the prospect of having to face Beckham twice in 2023 has disappeared.

Also part of the Beckham-to-Baltimore story was Lamar Jackson's Instagram post after the news dropped, which sure seemed to suggest the two very well might be teammates in 2023.

Of course, anybody who follows the NFL knows that Jackson is involved in a contract stalemate with the Ravens after the team placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him and he requested a trade, but no team has stepped up to make a move for Jackson.

So it just might be that Jackson will end up staying with the Ravens at least in 2023 and having Beckham as part of his wide receiver corps certainly would be reason enough for him to show his happiness at that development on social media.

Jackson's status will go a long way toward determining just how tough a task the Dolphins will face in winning at Baltimore in 2023 because let's not forget what he did against Miami in Week 2 this past season.

Sure, the Dolphins were able to overcome Jackson's big day with Tua Tagovailoa's six touchdown passes in that wild 42-38 comeback victory, but Jackson still passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 119 yards with a 79-yard score.

Jackson's top receivers that day were tight end Mark Andrews and wide receiver Rashod Bateman, and adding Beckham to the mix could only make him more difficult to handle for the Dolphins defense.

This probably still is a better outcome for the Dolphins than had Beckham joined the Jets, as many had projected, assuming obviously he can be the Beckham of old after having two ACL surgeries.

The idea of Beckham joining Aaron Rodgers with the Jets, along with current wide receivers Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis, and newcomers Mecole Hardman and Allen Lazard wasn't exactly a fun one for AFC East defenses.

In the end, Baltimore guaranteed Beckham $15 million for 2023 with incentives pushing the deal to a potential $18 million, which is an awfully large amount for a receiver with 21 games in the past three seasons.

BECKHAM NOT FOR THE DOLPHINS

The Dolphins never were mentioned once as a possibility for Beckham, not because they couldn't use another wide receiver but because of the asking price.

With Trent Sherfield having signed with Buffalo as an unrestricted free agent, the Dolphins don't have a wide receiver on the roster outside of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle who was targeted more than 32 times last season. And that was newcomer Braxton Berrios who played for the Jets in 2022.

As the Dolphins prepare to start their offseason program, it's fair to question who stands out as the third wide receiver among Berrios, Cedrick Wilson Jr., 2022 fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma and River Cracraft. It's also possible that third wide receiver isn't yet on the roster because there are several veteran wide receivers still on the market — including former Dolphins record-setter Jarvis Landry and former Chiefs and Ravens wideout Demarcus Robinson — and they would be a lot less costly than Beckham.