While the season ended for the Baltimore Ravens in a heartbreaking, Week 18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, one recently released Raven is getting a new lease on the season with a playoff team.
“The Chargers have signed G Ben Cleveland to the practice squad, a familiar face for GM Joe Hortiz and OC Greg Roman,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his X account on Monday, January 5.
Hortiz worked for the Ravens from 1998 to 2023 until he was hired by the Chargers as general manager in 2024. Roman was an offensive assistant for the Ravens from 2017 to 2023. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is also the younger brother of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
Cleveland, 6-foot-6 and 355 pounds, was released by the Ravens on January 1 following a suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
“Ravens waived offensive lineman Ben Cleveland, who recently returned from a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy,” ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote on X on Thursday, January 1.
Cleveland, 6-foot-6 and 355-pounds, was suspended on December 8 and had played in 10 games with no starts this season.
The Ravens finished the season 8-9 after losing 26-24 to the Steelers in Week 18 in a winner-take-all gam for the final AFC Playoff spot.
Cleveland has played in 64 career games with 7 starts since but never developed into a full time starter after the Ravens selected him in the third round (No. 94 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft.
The Chargers play the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card Round on Sunday, January 11.
Cleveland’s Suspension Followed Offseason Arrest
The NFL’s decision to suspend Cleveland isn’t his first setback in 2025.
He was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Baldwin County (Ga.) on February 12.
From NFL.com: “The report stated the arresting officer noticed the smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle and that Cleveland’s eyes appeared to be glossy. After conducting a field sobriety test and registering a .178 blood alcohol content — more than double the legal limit — on a Breathalyzer, Cleveland was taken to a nearby jail. He was given two citations, one for DUI-alcohol and one for failure to maintain lane, and later released after being bonded out.”
According to The Baltimore Banner’s Giana Han, Cleveland’s suspension was a direct result of the DUI arrest after he negotiated a plead deal on November 14 that sentenced him to 12 months probation.
“The NFL has suspended Ravens offensive lineman Ben Cleveland three games without pay after he was arrested in the offseason for driving under the influence,” Han wrote on December 8.
The suspension cost Cleveland approximately $207,000 of the $1.173 million salary he was scheduled to make this season.
Chargers Lost 2 Best Offensive Linemen to Injuries
The most incredible thing about the Chargers making the playoffs is probably that they’ve done so with arguably their 2 best offensive players after quarterback Justin Herbert.
Pro Bowl left offensive tackle and 2024 No. 5 overall pick Joe Alt, considered one of the NFL’s top young offensive linemen, missed 11 games this season and suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 10.
NFL All-Pro and 2-time Pro Bowl right offensive tackle Rashawn Slater signed a 4-year, $114 million contract extension on July 27 and suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon injury on August 7.
Former Ravens OL Ben Cleveland Lands With AFC Playoff Team