The Baltimore Ravens recent rookie mini-camp might end up costing the team a future offseason practice as they reportedly violated the collective bargaining agreement recently by having their players wear pads.
According to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, the Ravens’ coaching staff put their players in full pads during one of the team’s recent mini-camp practices which is clearly prohibited by the CBA that was put into place in 2011.
“A Ravens official said the team is unaware of any investigation but explained there was a five-minute period on May 6 when rookies and first-year players suited up in pads during a non-contact punt protection drill,” reports Hensley.
Five minutes or five hours shouldn’t make a difference here as the team certainly violated the rules. If not for veteran tight end Ben Watson, the Ravens union representative, the team may have wound up practicing all that day in pads as he was the one to alert the coaches of the violation.
It’s hard to believe that the Ravens coaches weren’t aware that this was a violation of the CBA as not only has their staff been in place for a very long time, the current rules have been used since 2011.
We’ll see what ultimately happens after the league reviews all of the practice tapes and if any penalty is unlimitedly handed down it will more than likely be minimal. With that said, the Ravens might be docked a future OTA practice as a result of their actions.
The Ravens are now somewhat considered repeat offenders when it comes to violating the CBA during the offseason. As Hensley points out, the Ravens were disciplined by the league in 2010 after several players complained to the NFLPA about late meetings and being held too long on the field after practices. As a result of those infractions the Ravens were forced to cancel their final week of OTA practices.
