Ravens remain ‘optimistic’ about re-signing Ronnie Stanley

Both the head coach and general manager expressed their confidence in being able to retain the two-time Pro Bowler.

One of the Baltimore Ravens’ top priorities this offseason is securing the future of their left tackle spot as two-time Pro Bowler Ronnie Stanley is slated to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. While draft analysts have projected them to target his replacement early in the 2025 NFL Draft, they’re not giving up hope on being able to bring him back.

Despite not having an abundance of cap space at the moment with a projected effective amount of less than $10 million according to Overthecap, the Ravens top brass expressed confidence and optimism in their ability to retain the elite blindside protector. General manager Eric DeCosta told reporters in his press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday that he will be meeting with Stanley’s agent, Kim Miale, in Indianapolis to talk about making a deal.

“You never want to say 100%, but I feel good that we’ll have a good, healthy debate, a good process,” DeCosta said. “We’re going to meet with Kim in Indy this week and I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to get a deal done.”

In his press availability shortly thereafter, head coach John Harbaugh echoed the same optimism about retaining one of his stalwart leaders, best players and foundational pillars.

“I think that we’ll probably keep Ronnie,” Harbaugh said. “I’m hopeful that we will.”

Stanley is ranked at or near the top of many pending free agent rankings given the premium position he plays, the hefty salary that comes with it and the resurgent season he is coming off of in 2024, during which he played in every game for the first time in his career.

Originally drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, Stanley has been one of the best offensive linemen in the league when healthy. He was inked to a five-year deal worth $98 million following his breakout campaign in 2019 when he earned his first career Pro Bowl nod and First Team All Pro honors. After suffering his first major injury midway through the 2020 season, Stanley struggled with injuries over the next three and a half years until returning to form in 2024 which resulted in him being named to the Pro Bowl for the second time.

While his predecessor, Ozzie Newsome, drafted Stanley nearly a decade ago, DeCosta locked him up on his first extension and is confident the two sides can and will come together to iron out another.

“Well Ronnie and I did a deal last time, so that’s great,” DeCosta said. “He and I have a good friendship; we’ve known each other for a long time. He’s got a great agent in Kim Miale.”

As much as the Ravens desire and will try to make Stanley a Raven for life, they are confident in their ability to find his successor if need be whether it comes via this year’s draft or promoting from within. The top internal option would be Roger Rosengarten who established himself as one of the better right tackles in the league as a rookie this past season but has previous experience as a blindside protector in college as a bookend on both sides of the line.

“We think Roger had a great year last year, he’s a very good athlete, way mature than a typical young player, I think he proved that this year with how he played and competed week-in-week-out,” DeCosta said. “He’s definitely a factor on the left side if need be.”

If the Ravens allow Stanley to reach the open market, he might be as good as gone given the other teams around the league with a glaring need at left tackle and much more cap space to blow them out of the water with a more competitive offer.

“I think we’ll try to find the best five guys we can,” DeCosta said. “I think there were a lot of questions about the offensive line last year and I think we did a pretty good job of putting a pretty competitive offensive line together on the field last year and I would expect the same to hold true this year.”