Lamar Jackson’s injuries the past two years have grabbed the majority of headlines when it has come to Ravens players being sidelined. But he’s not the only significant player who has struggled to stay on the field.
Over the last three seasons, left tackle and former All-Pro Ronnie Stanley has played just 18 games, including just six in 2020 and one in 2021.
So imagine the 29-year-old’s excitement not having to spend this offseason rehabbing.
“The majority of my time the past couple of years has been spent on rehab — 80% of that offseason time, probably, and 20% on training,” Stanley said Wednesday during the second day of the Ravens’ three-day mandatory minicamp. “So, I’ve been able to really put most of my time on training and building and getting stronger, getting more endurance. And just becoming an overall better athlete has been a big difference for me.
“This is as good as I’ve felt since 2019, preseason 2020.”
While Stanley did play in 11 games last season, returning in Week 5, his play didn’t come close to matching that of 2019, when he was the best pass-blocking tackle in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. That season, he got a 93.3 pass-blocking grade and an overall mark of 88.5.
In October 2020, the Ravens signed him to a five-year, $98.75 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL at the time.
Two days later, though, Stanley suffered a season-ending left ankle injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Back for the season-opener the following year, it was clear he wasn’t fully healed. He underwent another surgery and missed the rest of the year.
Now coming into a season healthy for the first time in years, Stanley is eager to return to his pre-injury level.
“[It’s] a big difference to be able to go through a full offseason healthy,” he said. “I’ve been able to build off what I did last season and just get better. I really feel a big difference from the past couple years.”
Still, it could take some time.
For one, there’s a new offense to learn under coordinator Todd Monken. For another, Stanley only just reported this week; he did not appear for the voluntary organized team activities the past few weeks.
After Thursday, the Ravens are off until the start of training camp in late July.
“It’s hard for me to tell but I don’t think I will be [back to my 2019 level] until … I feel confident in just the way I move and it kind of feels the same to me,” he said. “But for the standard I have for myself, I want to be better.
“I think [I can get back there]. After this offseason, my confidence level that I will get back [is] further [along] and that level has gone up because, just the things I’ve been able to work on and build through the offseason.”
Even being close to that would be helpful to a Ravens offensive line that has had to shuffle players around in his absence and lost starting left guard Ben Powers to the Denver Broncos in free agency this offseason.
His return is also good news for Jackson, who was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player the same year Stanley was an All-Pro after throwing for 3,126 yards and a league-high 36 touchdowns while rushing for 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns.
This year, expectations are also high for the quarterback and the offense after the Ravens remade their wide receiver group by signing former All-Pro Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor and drafting Zay Flowers. Earlier this offseason, Jackson joked about being able to throw for 6,000 yards.
But in order to do that, he’ll have to stay healthy. Having Stanley back goes a long way.
()