It has been nearly 500 days since he last played in real football action, but Odell Beckham Jr. is making his return to the football field.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Tuesday that Beckham, who signed with the Ravens this spring, is fully cleared for action, but that the Ravens will onboard him with a ramp-up process as he continues to work his way back from the ACL injury Beckham suffered in the Rams' Super Bowl LVI win over the Bengals in February 2022.
"He's going to be full-go in terms of health and all that, but I also expect us to ramp up a lot of our guys," Harbaugh said. "We've got to see where guys are at. We're not going to be in a hurry to throw guys out there too much, (with) too many reps. We want to get a feel for everything."
Beckham, 30, signed a one-year deal with the Ravens in early April that potentially could be worth up to $18 million. The free agent took some team visits last year with an eye on joining a contender toward the end of the season, but Beckham remained unsigned for the entire 2022 campaign.
"It feels good to get out of bed and not feel pain," Beckham said. "It's been a long journey."
When Beckham takes the field, it will be the first time he will practice in a team setting since his knee injury. Harbaugh indicated that the Ravens are fine taking the slower approach to getting Beckham up to speed physically, as well as mentally.
"He's learning the offense for the first time like a lot of guys have been," Harbaugh said on Tuesday. "So, I think we'll kind of be a see as we go. (He'll) go through individual (work), take a few reps in group (work) and team and see how he and the other guys feel and go from there."
Beckham said his goal is to be ready for Week 1. He's not sure how much action he'll receive during this week's minicamp.
"I don't know," Beckham said. "I don't have a set play amount."
Even though Beckham declined to put a percentage on how healthy he is, the good news is that he said his knee is pain-free right now.
"Yeah, I feel good," he said. "It feels good to feel like if I needed to take off running right now, I could take off running. It's been a long journey this time around, and it was a long process. So I just have to take that for what it was."
Harbaugh said Beckham is excited about returning, and the Ravens are excited to have him in the building and be part of a receiver room Harbaugh .
"You love great players and guys who love football," Harbaugh said, . "(Beckham) loves ball, and we want guys who want to be here. That combo is good.
"He's a highly decorated player. Worked hard to get himself to this point, sure he's a little anxious getting back for the first time. Good first step."
