Ravens' Ronnie Stanley Drops to Bottom Half of NFL

Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley can be one of the NFL's best when healthy.

Jul 31, 2016; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (79) warms up during the morning session of training camp at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

As it stands, the Baltimore Ravens only have two starting offensive line spots set in stone: Tyler Linderbaum at center and Ronnie Stanley at left tackle.

With those two players having their starting jobs locked up already, one would correctly assume that they are among the best at their positions. In fact, Stanley recently ranked No. 20 on Pro Football Focus' ranking of the NFL's top 32 offensive tackles.

"Stanley’s best years seem to be behind him. He has not played more than 900 snaps in a season since 2019 and has not earned a PFF grade over 71.0 in any of his last three seasons," PFF writes. "However, when he's healthy, the Notre Dame product can still be a solid pass protector for stretches. In fact, his 2023 pass-blocking grade of 75.9 ranked 22nd among offensive tackles."

The sixth pick in the 2016 draft, Stanley was firmly among the league's elite tackles. He even earned a first-team All-Pro nod in 2019 as he helped the Ravens lead the league in rushing and helped Lamar Jackson win his first of two MVP awards thus far.

The problem with Stanley is one that sadly plagues many players: injuries. His injury woes began when he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in 2020, then another nearly identical injury in the 2021 season opener. He has managed to play 11 and 13 games over the past two seasons, respectively, but injuries have still bothered him along the way.

As PFF notes, Stanley probably won't reach an All-Pro level again after all the injuries. That said, he can still be a good or even great offensive tackle if he can stay on the field, and the Ravens would likely be happy with that.

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