As one of the hottest free agent names on the proverbial market, there are a number of teams, from contenders to rebuilders, who would love to sign Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley should he hit the open market.
On paper, it makes sense, right? When healthy, Stanley is one of the better left tackles in the NFL and, in 2024, proved that by playing 98 percent of his team’s snaps – 1089 – while starting all 17 regular season games. While injuries could still come up, for now, it would appear as though Stanley could have a solid career moving forward and would upgrade most offensive lines as a result.
One such team that should be in on Stanley, according to ESPN’s Matt Bowen, is the Ravens, as he believes they are still the Notre Dame product’s best NFL fit.
“I like Stanley re-signing with the Ravens after producing high-end tape in 2024 and playing in every game, which answered some durability questions,” Bowen wrote. “At 6-6 and 310 pounds, Stanley can use his long frame to build a wall on the edge, and he tied for 11th among offensive tackles with a 92.5% pass block win rate in 2024.”
Is Bowen correct? In a word, yes, but just because the Ravens like their guys doesn’t mean they will be able to retain them, as GM Eric DeCosta noted during his post-season exit interview.
Eric DeCosta is keeping the Ravens’ options open for 2025
Asked about the impending free agency of Stanley last month in Baltimore, DeCosta noted the Ravens are keeping all their options on the table, including promoting from within or drafting someone new in April.
“I think our goal is to always have the best offensive line that we can have. We made a tough call last year to go younger and have some younger guys play, and we knew we’d have a few growing pains. I think we had a few, but looking back on it, I think it was absolutely the right thing to do, and we saw our guys improve and get better and really mesh as a unit and gel. 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. 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,” DeCosta explained.
“And one thing we’ve seen over the years with that position, is guys get better as they get older and more established. They get in the weight room, they get stronger and play better, so that’s going to be the case with the guys we have. We’re blessed to have really good coaches and some good young players, but also, we realize we’re going to have – conservatively – 10 or 11 draft picks this year, free agency, and still a chance to get some deals signed with some of those guys.”
After drafting Roger Rosengarten early last season, the Ravens do have some options on the offensive line this spring, but bringing back Stanley has to be one of them, as Bowen is right, he is a perfect fit.
