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Ravens To Lose 2 OTA Days; Team, Coach Fined

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Ravens will forfeit organized team workouts and face fines after violating NFL offseason workout rules, the league announced Wednesday.

The Ravens have been forced to cancel scheduled OTA workouts on Thursday and Friday.

The NFL released the following statement:

The Baltimore Ravens will forfeit two Organized Team Activity (OTA) days (June 7 and 8), and both the club and head coach John Harbaugh have been fined under the Collective Bargaining Agreement for a violation of the offseason workout rules.

The Ravens responded with a statement via Twitter:

Harbaugh said that the NFL's ruling is for "pass coverage contact during the early parts of OTAs."

General Manager Ozzie Newsome also defended the team:

"We are vigilant about practicing within the Collective Bargaining Rules. I am. John [Harbaugh] and his assistants are. I attend every practice and then watch the practices again on video. I see how the coaching staff teaches, corrects and addresses issues immediately on the field. In meetings, I have watched John's presentation to his players and assistants regarding how to properly practice and the pace of these sessions. We have players competing, including rookies and those fighting to make our team. Sometimes breaking old practice habits of these players, especially rookies, takes more repetitions. We'll continue to be vigilant about this."

The punishment is the second for the Ravens in three years. In 2016, the team forfeited one week of OTA sessions after being found guilty of violating the collective bargaining agreement for having full pads on during practice.

The NFL didn't disclose the amount of the fine levied against the Ravens and Harbaugh.

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