Beckham had a spectacular offseason and glowed about his state of mind and how much he loved being a Raven. He helped ice an opening-week win against the Texans with a late 29-yard catch.
An ankle injury suffered in Week 2 in Cincinnati, however, derailed that early momentum. Beckham has also been taking some practice time off the past couple weeks because of a shoulder issue.
“It was very hard earlier in the season, with what I had going on just kind of unexpectedly, and it just was very hard to have that initial burst,” Beckham said. “And when you go out there and you don’t feel like you’re 100 [percent], it’s very hard – with the things that are going on – just to be who I know I am. So, it feels good to just be able to consistently … Over time, it gets better and better and better.”
Beckham feels he’s on the cusp of a breakout and reminded reporters that it’s a new offense and this is about the time when they should start to find a groove. Even if he’s not the Ravens’ leading receiver, Beckham would like to find himself as a key playmaker in that mix.
“It’s just walking that fine line of being grateful to be back on the field, but definitely not being content with where I’m at or how I feel internally about what’s going on,” Beckham said.
Beckham missed an entire year of football because of a major knee injury. He put in a lot of work to have a successful comeback, but it hasn’t panned out the way he envisioned – yet. He said he feels he’s getting close to a breakout performance.
“We want to come here and jump off the bat. You feel like you’ve worked hard [and] you sat out a long time,” Beckham said. “But again, I don’t think many of us are sitting where we are at in our lives and expected to be exactly where we’re at and [for] things to go exactly how they went.
“It’s a matter of understanding life is life, and it’s going to continue to do that. It doesn’t stop; it’s going to keep rolling. It’s like surfing; some waves you crash; some waves you ride all the way in. You’ve just got to get back up on the board, continue to do that, stay resilient.”
