Ravens Left Tackle Ronnie Stanley Says He'll Be Ready for Opener

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens breathed a sigh of relief when left tackle Ronnie Stanley returned to practice this week.

Stanley, who underwent season-ending ankle surgery last season, is confident he'll be ready for the regular-season opener against Las Vegas.

"I do believe I’ll be full-go by that point,” Stanley said.

.@megatronnie on his meditation: pic.twitter.com/LwEffUM6Sl
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 24, 2021

In October, the Ravens signed Stanley to a five-year extension, which keeps the All-Pro under contract through the 2025 season. The deal is worth $98.75, which makes him the second-highest-paid left tackle at $19.75 million per year.

Staley was playing in the final year of his rookie deal and was eligible to test the free-agent market in 2021. The Raven selected Stanley in the first round of the 2016 draft (sixth overall) from Notre Dame. He has started all 61 of the games in which he’s played since joining the Ravens prior to suffering the ankle injury Week 8 against the Steelers.

"It was rough," Stanley said. "I know when the injury first happened, I didn’t really think much. I just thought, ‘My season is over. I’m not going to be there for my guys,’ and that was the biggest thing. It was really hard to just think about football after that and to even watch it. I would really only watch Ravens games and support my guys.

"But it was hard to think about something that you know you could play [and] do at a high level and then now it’s just, all of a sudden, you can’t do anything. It was a lot of days just trying to get my mind off that.”

In 2019, when he earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, Stanley helped Baltimore set an NFL record for single-season rushing yards (3,296) and produce the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense (33.2 ppg).

Stanley will be part of a revamped offensive line that includes a pair of players that will play on the right-side— guard Kevin Zeitler and tackle Alejandro Villanueva, both of whom were signed as free agents.

“I like what I see. I think we’ve got a good mix between young guys and vets," Stanley said. "The guys on the right side, I’m not worried about; those guys have been through it. They’re just going to find that chemistry together. And then, whoever I’m playing next to, I know it’s going to take some time, but we’re going to figure it out, and we’re going to work through it, and I’m always going to be there.

"I’m happy I can still be there to help guide whoever is playing there.”

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