The buzz surrounding Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley is tangible. As it should be. It’s a passing league, and teams without protection up front typically don’t make much noise when the games matter most.
While the market is heating up for Stanley, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta made it clear at the NFL Combine that keeping the Pro Bowl tackle was Baltimore’s top priority. He told the media:
“You never want to say 100%, but I feel good that we’ll have a good, healthy debate, a good process. We’re going to meet with Kim [Stanley’s agent] in Indy this week, and I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to get a deal done.”
Unfortunately, that was a while ago, and there’s been nothing but crickets since. The longer this drags out, the worse it looks for the Ravens. Every day that passes gives other teams more time to prepare their pitches, and if Stanley does hit the open market, he won’t be waiting long for suitors.
The New England Patriots are expected to make a big run at Ronnie Stanley
The Ravens have had every opportunity to get this done, but with free agency approaching, other teams are lining up with open checkbooks. And no team has been appearing in the rumor mill more than the New England Patriots.
They have every reason to be aggressive. The Patriots are sitting on roughly $120 million in cap space—more than enough to outbid Baltimore—and they have a franchise quarterback in Drake Maye who needs protection. Stanley is the best option on the market, and New England isn’t hiding its intentions.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano laid out the projected offers, and the gap between New England and Baltimore is pretty massive:
• Patriots offer: Four years, $100 million ($65 million guaranteed)
• Ravens offer: Three years, $60 million ($43 million guaranteed)
“This is the kind of deal that makes a player feel as if the team wants to build its offseason around him,” Graziano wrote. “Stanley considers himself one of the elite left tackles in the league, and this is a contract that shows the Patriots agree.”
Baltimore’s offer is competitive, but it’s nowhere near what New England is willing to throw at him. A $25 million per year deal would tie Stanley with Laremy Tunsil as the third-highest-paid tackle in the league. The Ravens’ $20 million per year offer? That barely cracks the top 10.
And if New England wasn’t enough, the Kansas City Chiefs are also lurking. Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports the Chiefs are eyeing Stanley as a potential fix for their left tackle spot after trading veteran guard Joe Thuney to free up cap space.
Baltimore is still in the mix, but they’re cutting it dangerously close. Every day that passes without a deal only increases the likelihood that Stanley gets to the open market—and if that happens, the odds of him returning plummet.
The Ravens already know what it's like trying to replace top-level offensive line talent. Last offseason ravaged the Ravens' cupboard. Losing Stanley would be like starting all over again. That’s not exactly ideal when your offense revolves around keeping Lamar Jackson upright and letting Derrick Henry bulldoze people into literal ground.
DeCosta said he was “optimistic” about keeping Stanley, but optimism doesn’t hand out contracts. The Patriots and Chiefs are coming, and they aren’t waiting around. If Baltimore really wants to keep its Pro Bowl left tackle, they need to stop dragging their feet and get this done.
