Ronnie Stanley has been the Baltimore Ravens’ anchor on the offensive line for the better part of nine years now, but whether or not he will return for a 10th season is one of the greatest questions the team will face this offseason.
As it stands now, Stanley, 30, is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career in March. The former All-Pro essentially bet on himself last offseason, restructuring his deal to make him a free agent in 2025, and that bet paid off tremendously as he played all 17 games for the first time in his career and provided some quality blindside blocking for Lamar Jackson.
Now, Stanley is set for a massive pay day in a few weeks time. Case in point, ESPN ranked him as the No. 3 overall free agent in this class, trailing only Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith.
“At 6-6 and 310 pounds, Stanley can use his long frame to build a wall on the edge,” ESPN’s Matt Bowen wrote. “He played the entire regular season, answering some questions on his durability, and also has the high-end tape to get paid. Stanley tied for 11th among offensive tackles with a 92.5% pass block win rate in 2024.”
Stanley’s age and injury history – he played just 31 games from 2020-23 – could scare some teams off, but he proved this season that he can still play at a very high level. Besides, premium left tackles don’t go on trees, and they’re usually among the highest-paid players in any given year.
There’s little doubt that Stanley will earn a bag in March, but will the Ravens be the team to give him what he wants? They certainly hope so, but if they can’t afford him, they’re more than ready to replace him up front.
“We are aware that we have some guys whose contracts are up, and we’ll look at that and certainly have some discussions with players,” general manager Eric DeCosta told reporters last week. “We’ll look at potentially bringing back our guys; we’ll look at the draft; we’ll look at free agency; we’ll overturn every rock to find as many good offensive linemen as we can, and I think we have some good young players on the team – they’ve shown that.