The Chargers are handing a lifeline to scandalized former Ravens offensive guard Ben Cleveland just in time for the NFL playoffs.Â
Cleveland, 27, has played all five of his NFL seasons for the Baltimore Ravens but was released by the team this week after being suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
The ban came after months of off-field drama in which he divorced his wife amid ‘adultery’ claims and was arrested for a DUI… but now he is back in the league.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday that the guard has signed to the Chargers’ practice squad, with a view to being a part of the team’s playoff run this season.Â
LA faces the New England Patriots in the Wild Card round on Sunday night, in a bid to reach the divisional round of the postseason for the first time since 2018.
If Cleveland plays, it will be the first time he has taken to the field since November 16, when he helped the Ravens beat the Browns in Cleveland.
Ben Cleveland is back in the NFL after agreeing a deal to join the LA Chargers’ practice squad
The lineman filed for divorce in Feb ‘because of adultery’, which his wife vehemently denied
He was suspended on December 8 – it is unclear of the specifics – but remained on the roster until January 1, when he was waived.
The PED ban was just one of a number of off-field issues Cleveland has been embroiled in this season, the most high-profile of which being his divorce.
The then-Ravens star filed to divorce Kaitlyn Terrell Cleveland on February 28, submitting the documents in Baldwin County, Georgia.
According to TMZ, he filed the divorce ‘because of adultery’, however she immediately insisted they were ‘knowingly false’ claims, alleging that they were ‘made in bad faith’ and ‘vehemently’ denying them.Â
Terrell Cleveland also said that she hoped she and Cleveland could come to an agreement to resolve all ‘matters and controversies’ surrounding their split.Â
The bombshell divorce filing in February, meanwhile, came just two weeks after he was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI).
It has been a rough year off the field for the offensive guard, who played five years in Baltimore
The 6ft 6ins, 360-pound guard allegedly drove his truck while over the legal limit in Milledgeville, Georgia, on February 12.
He was reportedly given two citations – one for DUI and one for failure to maintain lane.
It’s claimed Cleveland told the officers that pulled him over that he had drunk ‘approximately 3-4 beers’ at a country club before getting behind the wheel.
Cleveland was picked by the Ravens in the third round of the 2021 draft.
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Chargers sign troubled NFL guard Ben Cleveland for playoffs… after year of divorce drama, drug bans and DUIs