The Baltimore Ravens are eliminating distractions headed into a winner-take-all season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18, including cleaning house with a former offensive line prospect.
“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.
From the Ravens: “Announcement from the NFL: Ben Cleveland of the Baltimore Ravens is suspended for the club’s next three games without pay for violating the NFL’s Substances of Abuse Policy.”
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.
Cleveland’s Suspension Followed Offseason Arrest
The NFL’s decision to suspend Cleveland isn’t his first setback in 2025 after 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.
Rough Year for Baltimore’s Offensive Line
Cleveland’s suspension hasn’t been the only embarrassing moment for the Baltimore offensive line this season — that’s usually come when they take the field on Sundays and have played what seems like a game of “Ole!” with opposing defensive lines and putting starting quarterback and 2-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson in almost constant peril.
Offensive guard Daniel Faalele, 6-foot-8 and 370 pounds, was absolutely cooked by Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe and former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Chad Ochocinco following the Ravens’ 27-22 loss to the Steelers in Week 14.
It’s the kind of lambasting that doesn’t come around very often. In this case, it was well deserved. Like Cleveland before him, Faalele’s days in Baltimore might be coming to an end soon enough.
“(Faalele) can’t block the sun out of his eyes, let alone a defensive lineman,” Sharpe said on The Nightcap Podcast on Sunday, December 7. “You shouldn’t be allowed to be that big and sorry. He’s as big as he is sorry … on film, he’s always at the scene of the crime … you going to hell if you told that man ‘Good Game’ at any point this year.”
Ravens Part Ways With 6-foot-6, 355-Pound Former Third Round Pick