The Baltimore Ravens will get slightly less preparation for the 2018 NFL season than the rest of the league, and they'll be forced to pay for it.

On Wednesday, the Ravens forfeited two of their OTAs (June 7 and 8) and received a fine for violating the CBA's offseason workout rules. The violation and resulting penalty was first reported by Jeff Zrebiec. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, owner Steve Bisciotti was fined $100,000 while coach John Harbaugh got stuck with a $50,000 fine.

Shortly after the news broke, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and Harbaugh responded to the violation with two separate statements. Both Newsome and Harbaugh blamed the infraction on the difficulty younger players have adapting to practice pass-coverage rules.

"We take very seriously reading, understanding, abiding by and playing by the rules. Our coaches, staff and players have worked extremely hard to run the offseason program according to all the Collective Bargaining Agreement rules," Harbaugh said. "Our team has been singled out for pass coverage contact during the early part of OTAs. We have heavily emphasized these CBA pass coverage rules in meetings, and coached them diligently on the practice field. It has also been our priority to include our veteran players, along with new Ravens who have practiced and played for other teams, in the process and use their input and ideas.

"Even with consistent and repeated teaching, these rules pose considerable adjustments for the younger players. We have tried very hard to eliminate contact in pass coverage during OTAs, even so far as to pull players out of practice who struggle with these adjustments. I am confident we have done everything within our power and ability to practice within the rules, and we will continue to focus on preparing, teaching and practicing the right way."

Newsome defended his coach's methods, and pretty much said the same thing.

"We are vigilant about practicing within the Collective Bargaining Rules. I am. John [Harbaugh] and his assistants are. I attend every practice and then watch the practices again on video," Newsome said. "I see how the coaching staff teaches, corrects and addresses issues immediately on the field. In meetings, I have watched John's presentation to his players and assistants regarding how to properly practice and the pace of these sessions. We have players competing, including rookies and those fighting to make our team. Sometimes breaking old practice habits of these players, especially rookies, takes more repetitions. We'll continue to be vigilant about this."

The Ravens will likely get sympathy from the Seattle Seahawks, who got hit even harder for similar violations in 2016, when they were docked a fifth-round pick and a week of OTAs in addition to being fined. They will probably not get sympathy from Tom Brady, who once told the Ravens to "study the rule book" after the Patriots befuddled them during a playoff game a few years ago. Maybe the Ravens should've heeded his advice.

This also isn't the Ravens' first violation. In 2016, they were fined and docked three OTAs after they briefly conducted a non-contact punt protection drill with pads. In 2010, they missed a week of workouts due to an infraction. 

So, at least they're consistent.