Ravens Pushed to ‘Entertain the Possibility’ of Benching $99 Million Starter

Getty Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley Suffers Injury Against Steelers

The Baltimore Ravens are entering the final regular season stretch where they control their own destiny to achieve the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

SB Nation’s Stephen Bopst, of Baltimore Beatdown, has suggested that starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley is a player who needs to kick things into gear.

Bopst floated the idea that the Ravens may need to “entertain the possibility of benching Ronnie Stanley.” Stanley has been the target of both fan and analyst ire this season, as he has not been the star tackle that the Ravens gave $99 million to.

“Ronnie Stanley is not playing well right now. The bigger question is how much of it is a result of lingering injuries the former All-Pro suffered earlier in the season,” Bopst wrote.

Stanley has been dealing with a knee injury this season that has forced him to miss three games. They have impacted his ability to get off the ball and protect quarterback Lamar Jackson‘s blindside like he used to.

Bopst goes on to write, “If Stanley doesn’t show signs of improvement in the coming weeks, it might be time to give swing lineman Patrick Mekari a shot.”

The Ravens’ Week 12 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers highlighted Stanley’s struggles as it looked like he was being targeted by the Chargers defense. The Ravens’ passing game appeared to be in shambles that night and could not get any momentum going.

“Stanley was getting bullied by Khalil Mack for most of the night,” according to Bopst.

Ronnie Stanley Will Need to Rediscover His Game

Stanley was drafted 6th overall by the Ravens during the 2016 NFL draft and has been one of the top tackles in the game when he plays.

The Notre Dame product was First Team All-Pro in 2019 as well as a Pro Bowler. The Ravens rewarded him in the middle of the 2020 season with a five-year, $98.7 million contract that would keep him in purple until 2026.

Since he earned the contract though Stanley has had a roller-coaster of a career and struggled to stay on the field. In the last four years, his season-high in games is only 11 (2022), including a season-ending ankle injury in 2021.

2023 has seen Stanley graded the worst in his career at a 63.7 overall, according to Pro Football Focus (besides his one game in 2021).  This would only be good enough for 46th out of 83 offensive tackles.

In comparison, Mekari has played a similar number of snaps and has been graded a 66.4 overall, which would be 37th out of 83.

The 29-year-old Stanley has faced the wrath of fans this season for what they perceive to be a lack of quickness and inability to block for Jackson.

Some have called for him to be cut following the season to save some money on the cap, but the issue is he still will have an $18 million dead cap if he is cut.

Ronnie Stanley Faces Difficult Stretch Finish to 2023 Season

The Ravens are back in action in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams and following that game, they will be running a gauntlet to end the season. They face the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers to end the season.

All five defenses have elite weapons for pressuring the quarterback. If Stanley is not close to 100%, he could have a hard time keeping up and keeping Jackson upright.

The hope with the bye week is Stanley would have a little extra time off and be able to get right.

Head coach John Harbaugh spoke to the media before the bye about Stanley saying, “He’d be the first to tell you it’s not been great. He needs to get stronger and get his technique right. He’s a great player. We want to get him back to playing at that high level.”

If Stanley can regain a semblance of his 2019 form the Ravens would be heavy favorites in the AFC and the NFL.

Harbaugh will need to have a short leash if it appears that the bye week did not help Stanley, and he may need to switch to a Mekari-Morgan Moses tandem.