### **Ronnie Stanley Details His Difficult Journey**
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley is the Ravens' longest tenured player, but a couple of years ago his future in the league was in question.
[In a Players’ Tribune story titled “Powering Through,"](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ronnie-stanley-nfl-baltimore-ravens-football) Stanley wrote about his journey to this point, fighting through major injuries, and what he learned through it all.
Here are three excerpts from Stanley's story:
_On opting to get a second ankle surgery and virtually missing two consecutive seasons after signing his contract extension:_
"I'll never forget that feeling of everybody looking at me like: 'Damn, Ronnie, you got the bag and now you're getting surgery, huh? Do you really need it? Can't you just play through this?' The narrative was basically: This dude can't fight through the pain. He doesn't love the game like that. He just wants to get the money and run.
"But I got the surgery, and when it was over the doctors let me know … my deltoid was indeed completely torn. I wouldn't have been able to play with that injury no matter what I tried to do. There was no amount of toughness that was going to change that and allow me to play effectively, no matter how tough I was. It had nothing to do with not being able to 'fight through the pain.'"
_On Lamar Jackson always being there for him:_
"Outside of the house, I relied a lot on my family, who always had my back, first and foremost. And one teammate I can talk about always having my back is Lamar Jackson.
"There were other guys who had my back, too. But 8 always had my back. I've never met a more authentic person in the NFL. He's the face of the franchise and has all the pressure in the world on his shoulders. He's got every incentive to just be a Company Man, and instead he comes in every day like his genuine self. Not trying to fit any mold, an elite competitor with that childlike joy for the game. I love it."
_On playing with doubt after the injuries:_
"I was playing the game with the anxiety of getting the right results, and without any joy in the process of getting those results. I was playing out of fear of not messing up, not with the love that comes from attempting to be great.
"Back before those injuries, I was coming off a season where I felt I was one of the top players at my position, and yet every time I laced up my cleats after that, all I was thinking about was the mistakes I might make. I was tight, hesitant, second-guessing myself. And if there's one thing I've learned in my 20-plus years of playing football, it's that you can't play in fear. You'll play at half the speed and with twice the amount of thoughts. The best way to play is with a belief and confidence in yourself and what you're doing, wanting it to feel subconscious. Or, as Bob Rotella puts it in his book _How Champions Think_ … a line that's really stuck with me over the years: 'Get out of your own way.'"