Ravens offensive tackle James Hurst has been suspended by the NFL, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He’ll miss the first four games of the 2020 season after violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. 
Hurst appeared in all 16 games for the Ravens last year and started twice. But, even before the ban, he was on shaky ground. He’s slated to carry a $5.25MM cap figure this year; the Ravens could save $2.75MM by cutting him, leaving $2.5MM in dead money.
With cheaper backups coming available in free agency, and much cheaper offensive line to be had in the late stages of the draft, it seems likely that this will seal Hurst’s fate. The 28-year-old former UDFA has been with the Ravens since 2014 with 90 appearances in that span. Hurst started in 44 of those contests and was first-string for all of his games in 2017 and 2018.
In other Ravens news, the club cut ties with Tony Jefferson on Friday afternoon. The move will save the club roughly $7MM against the cap as they shift safety responsibilities to Chuck Clark.