Ravens Rumors: 'Cut Ronnie Stanley' in 'Bold Move'
Every offseason, each team has to deal with personnel moves and roster decisions that will affect the organization either positively or negatively.
The Baltimore Ravens are no different, and this offseason might involve more decisions than others.
ESPN recently suggested "bold moves" for each team for this offseason, and offers for the Ravens to cut offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.
"Once upon a time, Stanley was a first-team All-Pro, one of the best left tackles in the league. But that was five years ago. Stanley struggled last season for the Ravens, and they rotated him with Patrick Mekari. Stanley hasn't played a full season since that 2019 All-Pro year, and he ranked 38th in pass block win rate (87.2%) among tackles in 2023."
ESPN also included financial reasoning for cutting Stanley.
"Cutting Stanley before June 1 would save $8.3 million on the salary cap but would leave $17.8 million in dead money for 2024. A post-June 1 cut would save $15 million with $11.2 million in dead money for 2024 and additional dead money in 2025."
But there's a problem with cutting Stanley that ESPN can't provide an answer to, and that's the issue of finding a replacement for him.
"There's no clear replacement for Stanley on this roster. Mekari is considered more of a swing tackle, a stellar backup but not a starter capable of protecting Lamar Jackson's blind side for 17 games. But the Ravens are probably going to need to find a replacement for Stanley this offseason, so they might as well get some cap relief while finding a more trustworthy left tackle."
