With Ronnie Stanley Out, Pat Mekari Shows His Value for Ravens

Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley injured his ankle.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — With Ronnie Stanley ruled out with an ankle injury, the Ravens will turn to Pat Mekari once again to help stabilize the offensive line.

Stanley injured his ankle last week against the Panthers and Mekari stepped in at left tackle and did a solid job.

Mekari will face a more formidable front seven this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but coach John Harbaugh is confident that he is up to the challenge. 

“It’s valuable; that’s why we signed him," Harbaugh said. "We re-signed Pat [Mekari]; he earned it. Every position he’s ever played, he’s played well. He’ll play well again in this game. He won’t be the only one playing; we’re going to be working guys in and all those kinds of things.”

This year, Mekari has appeared in nine games with two starts. He also has done some work on special teams. 

@Ravens QB Lamar Jackson deemed himself ready to play against the Jaguars after dealing with an injured hip this week.
Jackson talked about the injury, the state of the Ravens, and the matchup with Jacksonville. #RavensFlockhttps://t.co/YHHRMLbDqA via @toddkarpovich

— Todd Karpovich (@toddkarpovich) November 26, 2022

The Ravens signed Mekari to a three-year extension in December, which keeps him under contract through the 2024 season.

The deal was worth $15.4 million with an opportunity to earn $750,000 in additional money in 2023 and 2024. 

Originally signed by the Ravens as a rookie free agent in 2019, Mekari, 24, has played in 36 career games (23 starts) with Baltimore. He was one of two undrafted rookie free agents to make the Ravens’ Week 1 53-man roster in 2019.

Mekari has played multiple positions during his three-year NFL career. In 2020, he has started 10 games at right tackle, helping block for the Ravens’ fifth-ranked rushing attack (137.7 ypg) and the league’s fifth-overall total offense (382.1 ypg).