The Baltimore Ravens have been stripped of two days of organized team activities after an “undisclosed infraction of league rules,” per Jeff Zrebiec, formerly of the Baltimore Sun.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network later confirmed the report and added that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and head coach John Harbaugh have been fined $100,000 and $50,000, respectively.
The Ravens sent out statements from Harbaugh and GM Ozzie Newsome regarding the incident, where they indicate “pass contact rules” as their likely violation. Harbaugh says the team takes the league rules very seriously. He also strongly implies that the young players on the team were at fault for committing the violation despite the team’s best efforts to teach them how to practice within the rules.
“Even with consistent and repeated teaching, these rules pose considerable adjustments for the young players,” Harbaugh said per Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk. “We have tried very hard to eliminate contact in pass coverage during OTAs, even so far as to pull players out of practice who struggle with these adjustments. I am confident we have done everything within our power and ability to practice within the rules, and we will continue to focus on preparing, teaching and practicing the right way.”
This isn’t the first time the Ravens have violated league rules which have cost them valuable offseason practice time. They lost three days of practice in 2016 after it was discovered that their rookies practiced in pads during rookie minicamp.
The voluntary portion of the Ravens’ offseason program may be coming to a premature end, but they won’t have to wait long to return to the practice field as they hold their mandatory minicamp next week.
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