Ravens place two players on non-football injury list including Ben Cleveland
By Justin Fried
The Baltimore Ravens are set to officially kick off training camp next Tuesday, July 27th. But rookies got an early start as they reported to camp a week early.
Unfortunately, the early report may have landed a couple of players on the injury list.
Per the NFL transaction wire, the Ravens placed rookie offensive guard Ben Cleveland and former undrafted tight end Jacob Breeland on the non-football injury list on Wednesday.
It’s unknown what, if any, injury resulted in each player landing on this list. But the hope is that neither is anything serious.
What caused the Ravens to place Ben Cleveland and Jacob Breeland on the NFI list?
Breeland is still rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered last summer. The injury kept him sidelined for all of spring practices and it’s very possible that this injury is what landed him on the NFI list.
As for Cleveland, however, it’s really anyone’s guess.
Cleveland was not dealing with any reported injuries during spring practices and took the majority of first-team reps at left guard.
One theory is that one or both players failed the Ravens’ infamous conditioning test which certainly makes sense. That would likely be the best-case scenario as it wouldn’t indicate an injury.
And at 6-foot-6, 343 pounds, the massive Cleveland seems like as good a candidate as anyone to fail the annual conditioning test. Especially given that athleticism is hardly his calling card.
Nonetheless, both players will want to be healthy for training camp as they’ll be part of crucial roster/position battles this summer.
Cleveland is competing with returning players such as Ben Powers, Tyre Phillips, and Ben Bredeson for the starting left guard job. He seems to be the odds-on favorite, but one injury could change that.
As for Breeland, he’ll be competing for the No. 3 tight end job behind Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle.
Breeland’s absence from OTAs and minicamp means he’s already behind his teammates, most notably offseason acquisition Josh Oliver who impressed this spring.
If Breeland can’t get on the field, his chances of making the final roster are slim to none.
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The Ravens would certainly like both of these players to be healthy for the summer so here’s to hoping this is nothing serious and that they’re back in action before long.