Eagles, Ravens go back-and-forth over Suggs hit on Bradford after NFL deems it legal

The Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles are engaging in a war of words over Terrell Suggs' illegal hit on quarterback Sam Bradford in Saturday's preseason game.

Suggs was flagged 15 yards on the play, but NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino said Monday the hit should not have been penalized.

"If the quarterback has an option, he's considered a runner until he either clearly doesn't have the football or he re-establishes himself as a passer," Blandino said on NFL Network. "So it's not a foul by rule."

After hearing the league's explanation, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly refuted the assertion that the play was a read option and called the development potentially troubling.

"Everyone in the league runs shotgun runs. Are they going to hit every quarterback in the league when they hand off in the shotgun?" Kelly said, according to Phil Sheridan of ESPN. "That's up to the league. I think it would be troubling for the league if every quarterback in the shotgun can be hit."

Eagles left tackle Jason Peters called the play a cheap shot Saturday, and Bradford echoed similar sentiments Monday, telling Jay Glazer of Fox Sports: "To dive at my knees, I did feel that was a little bit cheap."

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh took the complaints from the Eagles' locker room personally, defending Suggs and his motives.

"When you start popping off about somebody's character, you cross the line," Harbaugh said Monday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN reports. "That's not really something that we would respect. But most of their guys over there understood the play and understood (Suggs) was playing hard and trying to get stops."

The Eagles and Ravens will not meet in the regular season.