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REPORT: Baltimore Ravens lose final two days of OTAs

By Joe Schiller

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 28: Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens (Left) speaks with Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti (Right) before a game against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on December 28, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 28: Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens (Left) speaks with Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti (Right) before a game against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on December 28, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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According to report, the Baltimore Ravens will forfeit the final two days of OTAs this week and face potential fines from the NFL.

The Baltimore Ravens were set to finish up OTAs this week before beginning mandatory minicamp on June 12th. But due to unforeseen circumstances, that’s not going to happen.

Per Jeff Zrebiec, the Ravens will lose the final two days of OTAs (6/7 and 6/8) due to an undisclosed infraction of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Zrebiec also noted that head coach John Harbaugh and team owner Steve Bisciotti face potential fines.

The Ravens were off today as scheduled but now will miss the rest of the week.

This isn’t the first time the Ravens have come under scrutiny during the offseason. The Ravens forfeited the last week of OTAs in 2010 after violating CBA rules concerning the intensity of tempo during drills along with time spent in the team facilities. They were also penalized in 2016 when the team acknowledged that rookies were in full pads during rookie minicamp. John Harbaugh and the Ravens self-reported the incident and were fined close to $500,000 and forfeited three days of OTAs.

This is the third time an offseason infraction has happened in the Harbaugh-Bisciotti era and that presents some concern. This isn’t the first go-around for a long-time owner and 10-year veteran head coach.

Losing two days of OTAs doesn’t seem like much on the surface but the Ravens have a 12-man rookie class to work in and get situated. That also doesn’t include new free-agent additions. Two days of valuable practice time are now stripped away and that’s never a good thing.

John Harbaugh and a slew of players are set to meet the media on Thursday. There’s no word if that will change given the news.

Next: 2018 Baltimore Ravens: How do they match up with the Steelers?

As of now, there are no further details of the infraction. The story will be updated when that information is made available.

UPDATE:

Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh released official statements on the incident.

Looks like the infraction has to do with pass coverage during OTAs as Harbaugh stated.

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Harbaugh has been fined $50,000 and Bisciotti was fined $100,000.

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