Ray Rice will sit out the first two games of the season. (Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports)
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been suspended for the first two games of the regular season by the NFL following his offseason arrest on an assault charge stemming from an incident with his fiancee, according to ESPN.
Rice stands to lose more than $470,000 in base salary and will also be fined $58,000, per the report.
Rice can practice with the team and play in preseason games, with the suspension beginning Aug. 30. He is eligible to be reinstated Sept. 12, meaning Rice will miss a pair of key home games against division rivals – the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals and a Week 2 tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
The Ravens have been bracing for word from the league, anticipating a suspension without knowing how long Rice would be out.
“It’s not my decision to make, or any of us here,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday before learning of the league’s punishment for Rice. “It’s in other people’s hands. I’m sure there’s a lot of complications making these kinds of decisions. There are many sides to every story, and there are a lot of factors. There are other people involved.
“There are other disciplinary situations involved around the league. That has to be weighed in and taken into context. You’re going to have to sort through that to be fair. I know the league is very judicious about that. They work really hard to do the right thing. I don’t think they worry about public opinion too much. They want to do the right thing by the people involved. We’ll see where it goes.”
The Ravens have contingency plans factoring in Rice being unavailable, including how they’ll utilize reserve running backs Bernard Pierce, Lorenzo Taliaferro and Justin Forsett. And now they can plan ahead, knowing how long Rice will be sidelined.
Fantasy Update: Rice was already a sketchy player heading into this season already, but now he’s looking like a late-to-mid-round pick that could have upside if he gets his act together. Still, we don’t recommend him until later in the draft.
