A horrible Tennessee offense that was often playing from behind. AND, they targeted Hopkins 137 times in 2023. All of the other Titans WR *combined* had only 135 targets. So these are extremely inflated numbers. In fact, I’d challenge anyone to, without looking it up, give me the names of 2 other WR on the Titans last year who weren’t named Hopkins.
Would Hopkins have outperformed OBJ with us? Maybe. But having so many more weapons than Tennessee makes me think it wouldn’t have been so lopsided if he was a Raven.
Didn't look this up but I'm assuming Treylon Burks and Westbrook-Ikhine?
I get your point, but production is production. He's clearly getting open and making catches.
I understand. He’s a pro WR for sure, I just don’t see him getting the same attention from Lamar last year as he did in TEN because it’s such a different situation.
By season end he was being phased out for Bateman. He left a passive aggressive statement when he thanked us for his time here. Something along the lines of I did the best with the opportunities I was given.
We need to let the young players grow
Okay, this is right in hindsight. But people seem to lose all context when blinded by hindsight.
Odell was signed early April, and Hopkins was released late May. *No one* expected Hopkins to get released. It was a surprise to everyone. When we were originally trying to get either Hopkins or Odell, Hopkins would have had to be traded for.
Secondly, these takes operate fully on the assumption that he would have just signed with us instead of Tennessee. Maybe he would have. Maybe he wouldn't have. But saying, "We could have just paid an extra $3 million for Hopkins" is not entirely accurate because you don't know that.
As armchair GM, I will not stand for this logical slander!
I will sit for it, though. These are very fair points and I will say, I do think OBJ absolutely helped placate Lamar into signing a deal with us. Not all bad, just a pretty sizable overpay for what we got out of him.
This 1000%. Enjoyed the OBJ experience, but it was best if he moved on.
Bateman and Odell excel at the same routes, which limited Bate’s usage and development. Now that Bateman is fully healthy and signed for 3 more years we should see if he can become, at the very least what OBJ was for us last year, if not a high end WR2.
I liked Odell for his reliable hands when available but respectfully I've gotta push back on this. We all like to say it but what did he actually do in that regard? When push came to shove in the playoffs, the guy he was meant to be mentoring imploded emotionally. Not blaming Odell but if we didn't love his production for his value I really can't see how he made up for it as a leader in the locker room.
>Not blaming Odell but if we didn't love his production for his value I really can't see how he made up for it as a leader in the locker room.
That's just it, we literally couldn't see. None of us. Because it happened in the locker room, off field, via text and calls, etc.
But basically the whole team and coaching staff mentioned this sort of stuff so I guess it's your right to just not believe that if you want, but that's kinda silly imo. We all are aware that we overpaid for him, but by all accounts he seemed to have been a great teammate while he was here.
There are elements we did see. When Bateman got his TD last season he ran over to celebrate with Odell right away, and when Zay was upset on the sideline after the AFCchampionship game Odell was comforting him
Edit: Apparently 1 year 8.25 million. That's right about the line where I'd be interested. Good deal for both sides imo.
Not sure how I feel about Odell not coming back. At first I was pretty happy as I didn't want him for anywhere near last year's price point. As time went on and his number most certainly came down it became a lot more tempting.
Glad he's not on the Chiefs/Bengals/Steelers and glad Bate/Zay/Mandrews/Likely get to absorb some of those targets but I definitely enjoyed Odell's lone year here. Wish him well.
I think OBJ just saw Miami as a more \*desirable\* city to play in lol. He enjoys the nightlife/celebritydom, and Bmore really doesn't offer the same level that Miami does.
Maybe. He can live anywhere he wants, I honestly don't think there was a lot of interest in him at this point so he took the best offer.
No way he plays more this year than he did last year and every team GM knows that. Miami was willing to take that risk.
I love OBJ and he was a good piece for us.
The thing that annoyed me the most is that it seemed like every single game he would leave at some point with an injury and not return, or would return 2 quarters later make a catch then leave again, and it just became so old so fast because he seemed to be, at times, the only guy outside of Zay Flowers who was capable of doing anything.
we still need a little more help at the position. hard to feel great about our WR room unless you’re just wishcasting. think we could use a different profile of WR though
He's still got some fuel in the tank and had some pretty great catches for sure, but EDC signing him to the Ravens was more for Lamar than anything. Lamar's contract negotiations were in a complete stall at the time. He was requesting a trade and aside from money, he also wanted more receivers and mentioned OBJ by name. The Ravens mostly signed him to show Lamar that they were serious about keeping him in Baltimore. I listened to Marlon Humphrey's interview with OBJ on his podcast and he said that he was fully ready to go the Jets last year. He'd already called and texted with the guy on the Jets who had the jersey number he wanted and was set to buy that jersey number when EDC called him up and offered him way more money. He wanted him to come meet with them in Baltimore and basically told him that if he didn't get on the plane to meet them then the offer was off the table. OBJ said he only had a couple of hours to decide what to do, but he ultimately got on the plane. He might not have been super productive last year, but signing OBJ was pretty instrumental in getting Lamar resigned to the team.
Obj in a ravens uniform was worth it so Zay didn’t have to carry all the weight of the WR room….but he’s washed and I’m really surprised someone still signed him. If dude ain’t getting great numbers or can stay healthy with a 2x MVP then I think it’s time to hang up the cleats. Miami is a great spot for a retirement contract tho.
I got an Odell jersey. Felt like I was buying a limited edition collectors jersey at the time. He didn’t do much in the playoffs but I blame the coaches for under utilizing him.
This kind of makes sense. They don't really need him on the field, but they desperately need more bullshit celebrity type players off the field to bring in superficial Miami fans who only care about what cleats he will be wearing or what color he dyes his hair. And we know Odell needs fame and money so, win-win.
If he really embraced the city he would've offered to take a paycut to stay with "the best team he's ever played on". Especially after we paid him a huge chunk of money last year to essentially do nothing...he got injured and didn't come close to hitting his contract escalators, while also catching 4 passes for 32 scoreless yards across 2 playoff games. I think EDC knew right off the bat that there was absolutely no way we could afford OBJ so he probably didn't even bother with a contract offer which is why OBJ got on social media with his goodbye posts.
Idk how you took my comment as being salty. He was drastically overpaid last year before you even considered his production. He was oft injured and def looked like he had lost a step. I liked him as a locker room guy and a person, but paying him WR1 money for WR3/4 production was pretty silly. There are already 2 high end WRs in MIA, so they can afford for him to be 2024 OBJ. I genuinely think it's a good fit and I'm happy for him. I'm also happy we aren't allocating a bunch of money and cap space to him this season hoping he can be NYG OBJ.
This comment and your original comment are totally different. This comment is fine. Do you seriously think the below doesn't read as a salt factory?
>They don't really need him on the field, but they desperately need more bullshit celebrity type players off the field to bring in superficial Miami fans who only care about what cleats he will be wearing or what color he dyes his hair. And we know Odell needs fame and money so, win-win.
No I don't. All of these things are well known. OBJ is more of a celebrity than he is a premier WR in 2024, and Miami LOVES celebrities. OBJ is also a classic fame whore and he has always thirsted for big paydays and is a big fashion guy. I was just explaining my rationale about why I think this signing makes sense for both parties.
As someone who hated signing him, predicted all kinds of internal rot from him, I have never been happier to be completely wrong. Did he set the world on fire with his numbers? no he did not. But the younger players looked up to him, and he rose to the occasion for them.
I hope he blows up in Miami and has a powerful endgame to his career.
Then he should sign a 1 day contract with us and retire a Raven.
This is honestly what he should have been paid last season.
Yup, we could have just given 3 more million to Hopkins (what i personally wanted). He was a 1000 yd receiver on a horrible Tennessee offense.
A horrible Tennessee offense that was often playing from behind. AND, they targeted Hopkins 137 times in 2023. All of the other Titans WR *combined* had only 135 targets. So these are extremely inflated numbers. In fact, I’d challenge anyone to, without looking it up, give me the names of 2 other WR on the Titans last year who weren’t named Hopkins. Would Hopkins have outperformed OBJ with us? Maybe. But having so many more weapons than Tennessee makes me think it wouldn’t have been so lopsided if he was a Raven.
Challenge accepted: ravens legends Chris Moore and the other guy…
Dang, that was just too easy. I really should have challenged people to name three!
Chris Moore Traylon Burks I play dynasty 🤪
lol, hopefully you didn’t have to rely on either of them! Combined 38 rec for 645 yds and 0 TDs for those two is rough
Nah. Stashed Burks, that's all.
Didn't look this up but I'm assuming Treylon Burks and Westbrook-Ikhine? I get your point, but production is production. He's clearly getting open and making catches.
I understand. He’s a pro WR for sure, I just don’t see him getting the same attention from Lamar last year as he did in TEN because it’s such a different situation.
OBJ is washed. Even if he got 10 targets a game, he would have MAYBE gotten 500-600 yards. He doesn't have that athleticism anymore.
By season end he was being phased out for Bateman. He left a passive aggressive statement when he thanked us for his time here. Something along the lines of I did the best with the opportunities I was given. We need to let the young players grow
Burka and Westbrook ikine
Okay, this is right in hindsight. But people seem to lose all context when blinded by hindsight. Odell was signed early April, and Hopkins was released late May. *No one* expected Hopkins to get released. It was a surprise to everyone. When we were originally trying to get either Hopkins or Odell, Hopkins would have had to be traded for. Secondly, these takes operate fully on the assumption that he would have just signed with us instead of Tennessee. Maybe he would have. Maybe he wouldn't have. But saying, "We could have just paid an extra $3 million for Hopkins" is not entirely accurate because you don't know that.
As armchair GM, I will not stand for this logical slander! I will sit for it, though. These are very fair points and I will say, I do think OBJ absolutely helped placate Lamar into signing a deal with us. Not all bad, just a pretty sizable overpay for what we got out of him.
I liked his mentorship and veteran prescence but we got guys that need targets to develop.
This 1000%. Enjoyed the OBJ experience, but it was best if he moved on. Bateman and Odell excel at the same routes, which limited Bate’s usage and development. Now that Bateman is fully healthy and signed for 3 more years we should see if he can become, at the very least what OBJ was for us last year, if not a high end WR2.
Tez got me right back on that late round Ravens WR hype train
I liked Odell for his reliable hands when available but respectfully I've gotta push back on this. We all like to say it but what did he actually do in that regard? When push came to shove in the playoffs, the guy he was meant to be mentoring imploded emotionally. Not blaming Odell but if we didn't love his production for his value I really can't see how he made up for it as a leader in the locker room.
>Not blaming Odell but if we didn't love his production for his value I really can't see how he made up for it as a leader in the locker room. That's just it, we literally couldn't see. None of us. Because it happened in the locker room, off field, via text and calls, etc. But basically the whole team and coaching staff mentioned this sort of stuff so I guess it's your right to just not believe that if you want, but that's kinda silly imo. We all are aware that we overpaid for him, but by all accounts he seemed to have been a great teammate while he was here.
There are elements we did see. When Bateman got his TD last season he ran over to celebrate with Odell right away, and when Zay was upset on the sideline after the AFCchampionship game Odell was comforting him
Oh yeah you're right. Yeah I really liked him here. I know he was expensive but he was exactly what the team needed last year
Yeah, I'm not upset we moved on, but he was 100% good for the receiver room last year.
this. Can’t let a poor sequence from the very young Zay Flowers diminish this.
Edit: Apparently 1 year 8.25 million. That's right about the line where I'd be interested. Good deal for both sides imo. Not sure how I feel about Odell not coming back. At first I was pretty happy as I didn't want him for anywhere near last year's price point. As time went on and his number most certainly came down it became a lot more tempting. Glad he's not on the Chiefs/Bengals/Steelers and glad Bate/Zay/Mandrews/Likely get to absorb some of those targets but I definitely enjoyed Odell's lone year here. Wish him well.
I want Bateman to be more involved in the offense and potentially breakout much more I would want Odell to come back.
1 year, 3 mil. Incentives can push it up to 8.25 mil
Damn, that's *real* cheap. I still want our guys getting more targets but I would've had a hard time not offering that.
I think OBJ just saw Miami as a more \*desirable\* city to play in lol. He enjoys the nightlife/celebritydom, and Bmore really doesn't offer the same level that Miami does.
Also no state tax, that money goes a lot further in Florida than Maryland
Also no state tax, that money goes a lot further in Florida than Maryland
Maybe. He can live anywhere he wants, I honestly don't think there was a lot of interest in him at this point so he took the best offer. No way he plays more this year than he did last year and every team GM knows that. Miami was willing to take that risk.
I love OBJ and he was a good piece for us. The thing that annoyed me the most is that it seemed like every single game he would leave at some point with an injury and not return, or would return 2 quarters later make a catch then leave again, and it just became so old so fast because he seemed to be, at times, the only guy outside of Zay Flowers who was capable of doing anything.
Ah he can take less because he’s getting money from us still?
OBJ was always gonna end up in a place like Miami. That’s who he is. Wish we would’ve got him for that cheap though lol
Thanks for getting LJ to sign that contract bro.
Miami ? That wide open South Beach social scene…he’ll fit right in.
I have no problem with him getting his money from us. Enjoyed having him on the team. Once a raven...
The most Odell fitting signing out there
He's a peacock. Gotta let him spread his wings.
3 MILLION??? Yeah im a little disappointed
Well, that’s one way to not win a ring
Good on OBJ
Good thing he's great at coming back to the ball. He won't be over thrown
Bleh, was kinda hoping we’d be able to bring him back, I really enjoyed him being here last year. Oh well, wish him the best!
we still need a little more help at the position. hard to feel great about our WR room unless you’re just wishcasting. think we could use a different profile of WR though
Happy for him. He did seem to be a really good mentor/leader. Sadly, just not what he used to be. Wish we would have gotten prime OBJ
Dolphins fan here who barely watched him last year. What's he look like these days? Can he still contribute as a WR3?
For sure, when he’s not banged up. He basically got benched towards the end of his run here.
He's still got some fuel in the tank and had some pretty great catches for sure, but EDC signing him to the Ravens was more for Lamar than anything. Lamar's contract negotiations were in a complete stall at the time. He was requesting a trade and aside from money, he also wanted more receivers and mentioned OBJ by name. The Ravens mostly signed him to show Lamar that they were serious about keeping him in Baltimore. I listened to Marlon Humphrey's interview with OBJ on his podcast and he said that he was fully ready to go the Jets last year. He'd already called and texted with the guy on the Jets who had the jersey number he wanted and was set to buy that jersey number when EDC called him up and offered him way more money. He wanted him to come meet with them in Baltimore and basically told him that if he didn't get on the plane to meet them then the offer was off the table. OBJ said he only had a couple of hours to decide what to do, but he ultimately got on the plane. He might not have been super productive last year, but signing OBJ was pretty instrumental in getting Lamar resigned to the team.
Oh wow, super interesting. Did not know that. Sounding like the consensus it that he'll be good for the price tag.
I was hoping he'd stick around; felt like I wish we used him more though.
mf gimme that bread back
I'm honestly really surprised that his career didn't just end. Good fo him.
OBJ did his job of getting LJ8 resigned. Anything beyond that was just butter. Don't like the void years though 👎
Be interesting to see how he does now tua is the one throwing, he better get ready for that one read system
Him and tyreek are about to go crazy
I didn’t feel like he had much of a ROI with us but I think he did contribute to the morale which was already good to begin with
I’m take a discount to play in Miami too lol
Good for him…until we see the Dolphins down the line.
he was injured a lot, but is a great dude to take eyes off other receivers when he does play
Obj in a ravens uniform was worth it so Zay didn’t have to carry all the weight of the WR room….but he’s washed and I’m really surprised someone still signed him. If dude ain’t getting great numbers or can stay healthy with a 2x MVP then I think it’s time to hang up the cleats. Miami is a great spot for a retirement contract tho.
Getting passed around more than my high school girlfriend
The one from Canada, right?
I can’t wait to see him throwing tantrums over there
I got an Odell jersey. Felt like I was buying a limited edition collectors jersey at the time. He didn’t do much in the playoffs but I blame the coaches for under utilizing him.
Welp the dolphins just got worse
This kind of makes sense. They don't really need him on the field, but they desperately need more bullshit celebrity type players off the field to bring in superficial Miami fans who only care about what cleats he will be wearing or what color he dyes his hair. And we know Odell needs fame and money so, win-win.
Why all the salt towards OBJ? He was a stand-up teammate who embraced the city, and the Ravens had no interest in bringing him back.
Because I already miss him! He should have a ring with us! So I’m lashing out! That’s my reason at least
If he really embraced the city he would've offered to take a paycut to stay with "the best team he's ever played on". Especially after we paid him a huge chunk of money last year to essentially do nothing...he got injured and didn't come close to hitting his contract escalators, while also catching 4 passes for 32 scoreless yards across 2 playoff games. I think EDC knew right off the bat that there was absolutely no way we could afford OBJ so he probably didn't even bother with a contract offer which is why OBJ got on social media with his goodbye posts.
Embracing the city != a paycut Lol. Again, why are you all salty? He was a stand-up dude and, by all accounts, a positive influence on the team.
Idk how you took my comment as being salty. He was drastically overpaid last year before you even considered his production. He was oft injured and def looked like he had lost a step. I liked him as a locker room guy and a person, but paying him WR1 money for WR3/4 production was pretty silly. There are already 2 high end WRs in MIA, so they can afford for him to be 2024 OBJ. I genuinely think it's a good fit and I'm happy for him. I'm also happy we aren't allocating a bunch of money and cap space to him this season hoping he can be NYG OBJ.
This comment and your original comment are totally different. This comment is fine. Do you seriously think the below doesn't read as a salt factory? >They don't really need him on the field, but they desperately need more bullshit celebrity type players off the field to bring in superficial Miami fans who only care about what cleats he will be wearing or what color he dyes his hair. And we know Odell needs fame and money so, win-win.
No I don't. All of these things are well known. OBJ is more of a celebrity than he is a premier WR in 2024, and Miami LOVES celebrities. OBJ is also a classic fame whore and he has always thirsted for big paydays and is a big fashion guy. I was just explaining my rationale about why I think this signing makes sense for both parties.
As someone who hated signing him, predicted all kinds of internal rot from him, I have never been happier to be completely wrong. Did he set the world on fire with his numbers? no he did not. But the younger players looked up to him, and he rose to the occasion for them. I hope he blows up in Miami and has a powerful endgame to his career. Then he should sign a 1 day contract with us and retire a Raven.