Matt Elam's suspension nearly two years old and self-reported to the league

Much has been made of Matt Elam by Ravens fans. Despite playing only two seasons and being forced out of position due to injuries in one of them, fans have been open and loud critics of safety Matt Elam's play on the field. That is why his one-week suspension for performance enhancing drugs that was announced late last week was expected to be the final nail in the coffin of a rare first-round bust for the Ravens.

Yet, with Harbaugh talking to the media on Monday, it appears that the suspension might be less of a problem than originally thought. When asked about Elam's suspension, Harbaugh quickly pointed out that the safety self-reported the issue to the league around a year and a half ago.

We knew it was coming. I had forgotten that it was coming up because that has been a year and half, two years ago.

I want to say this on behalf of Matt. He self-reported that. That was a situation he got involved in down in Florida, I don't even know the details of it. What I do know is that he brought it to the attention of the league through the Ravens, and went to the league and let them know that. This was the result of doing that. I give him credit for stepping up and talking about the situation and taking responsibility for it.

First is the idea that it happened just about two years ago, making it irrelevant during his time on injured reserve like most people think. Second is the fact that Elam came to the Ravens and made both the team and the league aware of the issue without warrant. To me, that says a lot about the character of the player at the center of the attention and might even indicate that it was a mixup that Elam ingested something prohibited and wanted to clear the air immediately.

While that might not change the opinions of the masses, it sounds like the Ravens and coach Harbaugh are high on the morality of Matt Elam. After seeing him during OTAs and training camp, I think the Ravens will actually have a decent player on their hands when he sees the field again.