Eric DeCosta Sheds Light on Ronnie Stanley's Injury, Potential Return

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens GM Eric DeCosta was confident that left tackle Ronnie Stanley would be fully healthy for the 2021 season following ankle surgery.

Stanley played in the regular-season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders but never appeared in another game because he aggravated the injury.

That left not only a huge void at tackle but also handicapped the Ravens in the free-agent market because of Stanley's salary, which amounted to $10 million in salary-cap space.

"It’s something that I’ve thought about quite a bit, and it’s probably my mistake – I don’t want to use ‘assuming,’ but expecting that Ronnie [Stanley] would come back this year full-strength," DeCosta said. "Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. There’s probably a lot of blame to go around; ultimately, I’m the guy that has to talk to the various doctors and trainers and make a decision and determination at that position.

"My understanding and belief was that Ronnie would come back this year and play really good football for us, be healthy, be strong and be ready to go, and he wasn’t."

Last year, the Ravens moved Alejandro Villanueva from right tackle to the left side to replace Stanley, but he had some struggles. Baltimore might have to sign a free-agent tackle or select one in this year's draft if Stanley is not healthy.

However, DeCosta is hopeful Stanley will be ready to resume his spot on the left side of the line.

"I'm optimistic," he said. "I truly believe that Ronnie is going to be back this year and play good football, play winning football and become, again, the Ronnie Stanley that was an All-Pro left tackle. If he can do that, that will be a huge, huge advantage for us moving forward.

"That being said, one of, probably, the points of emphasis this year is the offensive line, how do we improve and how can we get better."