ESPN's Chris Mortensen indicated on NFL Insiders Thursday that Ray Rice is likely to face a league-imposed suspension following his assault charge. Rice avoided trial and is a first-time offender of the Personal Conduct Policy, but the NFL has suspended players for similar incidents. "He's gonna miss some time," said Mortensen. "The Ravens anticipate he's gonna miss some time." Say Rice is suspended for the first two games of 2014; it would give another running back (Bernard Pierce, Lorenzo Taliaferro?) the opportunity to run away with the feature back job in OC Gary Kubiak's run-heavy offense.

Former NFL counsel David Cornwell believes Ray Rice could still face a suspension despite avoiding trial on assault charges. Rice can argue that he's a first-time offender of the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy and his charges will be formally dropped once he completes an intervention program. But Cary Williams was suspended two games during the 2010 season for a domestic incident and Fabian Washington got one game in 2008 for the same issue. Both former Ravens had clean sheets previously, and neither had an ugly video posted on TMZ a la Rice. A one- to two-game ban is in play for tarnishing the shield.

Ray Rice will avoid trial on assault charges after being accepted into a pretrial-intervention program.

Ray Rice pleaded not guilty on a third-degree charge of aggravated assault in New Jersey Thursday. Rice allegedly struck Janay Palmer, his then fiancee and now wife, unconscious at an Atlantic City hotel. He's applied for Pretrial Intervention Program, a diversionary program that permits certain defendants (typically first-time offenders like Rice) to avoid formal prosecution. If approved, Rice would receive probation without jail and undergo anger management. The prosecution has also offered a plea that includes probation. Either way, Rice isn't going to land behind bars. But even if he ends up without a true conviction, Rice can still be suspended under the league's Personal Conduct Policy.

Ray Rice will be arraigned on felony aggravated assault charges Thursday. Per the indictment, Rice allegedly did "cause significant bodily injury to Janay Palmer, and/or did purposely or knowingly cause significant bodily injury to Janay Palmer and/or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, did recklessly cause significant bodily injury to Janay Palmer." As a first-time offender, Rice will likely avoid jail time. However, a guilty plea could very well result in a suspension.

The Ravens are pleased with Ray Rice's conditioning at voluntary workouts. The Ravens want Rice to play near 207 pounds after he checked in around 217 last season. "He's doing some things differently as far as his diet and so forth, and he told me has a handle on it," were the words of strength and conditioning coach Bob Rogucki. "Whatever he did from the end of the season until now, he's in a good position right now." Rice's weight remains a secondary issue to his off-the-field troubles.

The Ravens have paid Ray Rice $25 million since July of 2012. The Ravens have swallowed the biggest chunk of Rice's $35 million contract already, with only $10 million remaining over the next three seasons. PFT's Mike Florio points out that if the money was instead backloaded, it would be easier for the Ravens to take a moral stand and cut him. Rice has been indicted by a grand jury on assault charges for striking his fiancee (now wife) Janay Palmer.

Sources tell ESPN that Ray Rice married Janay Palmer Friday. The marriage comes one day after Rice was indicted by a grand jury on assault charges for allegedly striking Palmer unconscious. It's notable because Palmer could now claim spousal privilege in the case, making it unlikely she'd be forced to testify against her husband. Without any testimony from the victim, prosecutors would not have much of a case. The video released by TMZ shows Rice lifting/dragging Janay Palmer out of an elevator, but did not show him striking her.

The Baltimore Sun reports the Ravens were interested in "adding at least one running back" even before Ray Rice's legal issues. Even without Rice's legal issues, the Ravens would be smart to look for help at running back. Rice is coming off his worst season as a pro, and heir apparent Bernard Pierce did now show much better in 2013. Baltimore may look to sign a free agent like Andre Brown and will certainly take a running back in the middle rounds of next month's draft.

Ray Rice has been indicted on one count of aggravated assault for his alleged assault of his fianc‚e in February. It's an upgrade on Rice's original simple-assault charge, and carries a potential 3-5 years in prison. The simple-assault charge against Rice's fianc‚e has been dropped. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti "aggressively stood by" Rice on Monday, but the case doesn't appear likely to go quietly. In addition to whatever the court decides, either via a plea deal or trial, Rice is facing a suspension.