Odell Beckham Jr. is entering his 10th NFL season with the Baltimore Ravens, and he’s already seen it all. From a meteoric start with the New York Giants — highlighted by one of the greatest catches in the sport’s history — to a torn ACL while winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, Beckham Jr. has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
The 30-year-old veteran seems a lot wiser for it.
In a training camp conversation with NBC Sports’ Peter King, Beckham Jr. described his mentality as more of an elder statesman for the Ravens. With Baltimore rostering promising young receivers like Zay Flowers, Beckham Jr. is both in a position to make plays and mentor a rookie.
After everything he’s endured and learned, Beckham Jr. appears to be relishing the opportunity. He’s letting the game come to him, and anyone who wants to learn from him gets their appropriate time.
“I think my biggest thing now is the way that I listen. I’ll sit there and just listen. Hear them out. When I was younger, even if I respected a person, if someone’s talking and talking and telling me information, I think it’s hard to lead that way. Everybody’s story’s different. You have to understand a person, really understand them, before you tell them how to do something, I think. It’s kinda cool. I actually love the role.”
A common question many NFL veterans get every year concerns what they would tell a younger version of themselves. How would they guide them? What would they make sure they remember? Is there anything they’d do differently?
Beckham Jr. volunteered an answer about this perspective, sharing a delightful answer about rolling with the punches in life.
“… You have to tell your 21-year-old self you’re gonna go through your own journey. There’s no manual for what you’re gonna go through. You’re gonna have a lot of f—ups. You’re gonna learn from them. You don’t wanna make the big mistake, but if you do, you usually grow from it and get stronger.”
Of course, Beckham Jr. is human. Like anyone, he thought about what could’ve been. But that is not a mindset that ever serves a person in a healthy fashion. It’s a deterrent from future success, and one Beckham Jr. isn’t entertaining.
“… If I could go back,” Beckham said, “would I like to have a career where the first three years of my career could have been repeated? Yeah, of course. I’d be sitting here, 30 years old, with 100 touchdowns and 14,000 yards. I wish I could’ve never been injured, never shattered my ankle or came back too early from a high ankle sprain. But those are things I now have to live with. I can’t live in regret for the rest of my life.”
I think this is timeless advice we could all hear and channel now and then.
