Ravens practice squad player suspended 6 games for violating NFL drug policy

The Baltimore Ravens have temporarily lost a member of their practice squad as rookie offensive tackle Adrian Ealy has reportedly been suspended six games without pay for violating the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances.

As first reported by Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Ealy’s suspension began on Monday and will continue until he’s eligible to return on November 22.

That will be after the Ravens’ Week 11 game against the Chicago Bears. Ealy will be unavailable to participate in any team activities including games and practices.

This, of course, does not have a huge direct impact on the team. But it does take away one potential practice squad option to promote and could hinder Ealy’s development as he’ll be unable to practice with the team for over a month.

The Ravens will be without Adrian Ealy for six weeks

An undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma, Ealy signed with the Ravens shortly following the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft. And he was actually considered to be one of the more intriguing undrafted signings the team made too.

In fact, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox even referred to him as Baltimore’s “best undrafted signing” this past July. He had some hype coming out of college.

Some believed that Ealy could push for a roster spot given the lack of a true swing tackle on the roster, but he ultimately found a place on the practice squad.

However, despite multiple injuries to the offensive tackle position, the Ravens haven’t really been prioritizing him.

Instead, the team has promoted veteran Andre Smith on multiple occasions and used Patrick Mekari at right tackle, to a great deal of success.

They’ve also signed the likes of David Sharpe and Jaryd Jones-Smith to their practice squad adding two more offensive tackles to the mix.

It seems evident that the Ravens see this season as a developmental year for Ealy. Unfortunately, his suspension could hinder said development.