Baltimore Ravens Offensive Lineman Ben Cleveland Suspended
If you were hoping for a quiet week in Baltimore as the Ravens gear up for the final stretch of the regular season, you might want to look away. The NFL dropped a bit of a bombshell on Monday, announcing that Ravens Offensive Guard Ben Cleveland has been suspended for three games. The reason? A violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
For those who have been following the team closely, this might feel like the other shoe finally dropping. This suspension traces back to an incident in February 2025. Cleveland was arrested in Georgia and charged with a DUI. We aren’t talking about a misunderstanding at a checkpoint here; according to police reports, Cleveland registered a blood alcohol content of .178—more than double the legal limit.
What This Means For the Ravens’ Depth Chart
Let’s be honest about the football side of things for a second. In terms of immediate on-field impact, this news lands with a bit of a dull thud rather than a crash. Cleveland hasn’t exactly been a staple in the starting lineup this year. In fact, he’s been a “healthy scratch” for the last three weeks.
The coaching staff has seemingly preferred the likes of Emery Jones to back up the interior line. So, in a grimly ironic twist, Cleveland is now officially suspended from games he likely wasn’t going to play in anyway. However, in the brutal attrition war of the NFL, depth is everything. If an injury bugs the offensive line in the next three weeks against the Bengals, Patriots, or Packers, the Ravens are now down a big body with starting experience. That is never a comfortable place for a contender to be.
The Financial Hit For Cleveland
While the team might navigate this without missing a beat, Cleveland’s bank account is definitely going to feel it. This is where the human element comes in, and you have to wince a little at the cost of bad decisions.
Because this is an unpaid suspension, Cleveland is set to forfeit three game checks. Based on his base salary of $1.17 million, that mistake is going to cost him roughly $194,000. That is a steep price to pay.
A Cloudy Future In Baltimore
The timing of this couldn’t be worse for the 27-year-old lineman. Cleveland was a third-round pick in the 2021 draft, a guy brought in with hopes that he would be a mauler in the trenches for years to come. Instead, his tenure in Baltimore has been defined by inconsistency and an inability to lock down a permanent starting gig.
He is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency this coming March. Getting suspended for a substance abuse violation right before you ask a team to invest millions of dollars in you is, to put it mildly, bad business.
Cleveland will be eligible to return for the season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whether the Ravens decide to put him back on the active roster or keep him on the sidelines remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure: Cleveland has a steep hill to climb to regain the trust of the league and his future employers.
