New York, NY – The National Football League on Monday announced the suspension of Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed for one game due to repeated violations of player safety rules.
The punishment was precipitated by Reed's latest misdeed, a hit to the head and neck area to Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in Sunday night's 13-10 win in Pittsburgh. Reed was hit with a penalty for unnecessary roughness on the play.
It is the third instance in the last three years that Reed has failed to lay up when making contact with a player deemed to be defenseless, and second this season.
Reed was penalized for unnecessary roughness and fined $21,000 for hitting Patriots wideout Deion Branch during a Sept. 23 game, and drew a similar penalty along with a $10,000 fine for a blow to the head/neck region on New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in December of 2010.
"We cannot tolerate repeated violations of rules, especially rules related to player safety," said NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson. "We will continue to take the strongest possible action to deter these types of violations and protect our players."
The 11th-year pro out of Miami-Florida is not allowed to practice or play in Baltimore's next game, which takes place Nov. 25 against San Diego, nor will he be allowed to appear at the team's practice facility before reinstatement on Nov. 26.
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