A second PED violation has triggered a 10-game suspension for Ravens tight end Nick Boyle. He’ll continue to have a job in Baltimore, but his head coach reserves the right to give him the business.
“I said it was stupid or dumb, or whatever I said [after the first positive test], and I double down on that because he did it again,” Harbaugh said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine, via the team’s official website.
“It’s even worse because he knew he tested positive and what he tested positive for. It’s just ridiculous that he would do that. . . . I asked him, ‘What are you thinking?’ And he can’t explain it. There’s no explanation for dumb. It’s just really, really dumb. It hurts us, it hurts him, and he’s going to have to overcome it.”
Harbaugh made it clear that Boyle will not be cut.
“We’ll give [Boyle] an opportunity to overcome it because it would be foolish not to,” Harbaugh said. “He didn’t hurt anybody except himself and our team. When any player becomes more of a problem than they are a benefit, then they have to go. I don’t see him there yet. . . . I still think he’s going to be a really good player in this league. If he continues to double down on dumb, then he’s going to be out.”
If he triples down on dumb with a third PED suspension, Boyle will be out for two full years.