Ronnie Stanley and Lamar Jackson
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Baltimore Ravens left offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
In the NFL, you don’t hear about teams trading away elite left offensive tackles very often.
The Baltimore Ravens might not be doing things in a typical fashion with a new head coach in Jesse Minter, which is why Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine named NFL All-Pro and 2-time Pro Bowler Ronnie Stanley as the team’s “Top Trade Asset” this offseason.
It turns out it wouldn’t be the 1st time a deal like that has been made recently and would come just 1 year after the Ravens signed Stanley, 31 years old, to a 3-year, $60 million contract extension.
Stanley, 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, has been Baltimore’s full time starter since he was the No. 6 overall pick out of Notre Dame in the 2016 NFL draft.
“(Stanley) has been among the franchise’s biggest stars in the John Harbaugh era,” Ballentine wrote. “But that era is obviously over. It isn’t often that we see franchise left tackles get traded, but Laremy Tunsil was dealt last season. Stanley will be 32 in March, but he would be able to bring back a nice package of picks if the Ravens made him available.”
While the Ravens are coming off a season in which they entered as Super Bowl contenders but went 8-9 and missed the playoffs — which led to longtime head coach John Harbaugh being fired — it might not be the smartest idea to trade the player who protects quarterback Lamar Jackson‘s blind side unless the Ravens think they can replace him in the 1st round of the draft.
Stanley also hasn’t shown a dramatic drop off in his play. He’s started 33 out of a possible 34 regular season games over the last 2 seasons and received a 70.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2025 — showing he can still play elite football.
Stanley Almost Went Elsewhere in 2025
Stanley was a popular name in the 2025 free agency cycle but the Ravens never let it get to that — before the Washington Commanders traded for Tunsil there were rumors they were looking to go after Stanley.
From Bleacher Report in February 2025: “Ronnie Stanley of the Baltimore Ravens had struggled with injuries in recent seasons, but the soon-to-be 31-year-old played in all 17 games last year and made the Pro Bowl.”
Injury Problems in Rearview Mirror
Stanley’s NFL career took off like a rocket ship after he was drafted in the first round (No. 6 overall) of the 2016 NFL draft by the Ravens after an All-American career at Notre Dame.
Stanley, 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, missed 4 games as a rookie and only missed 8 games, total over his first 4 seasons before earning Pro Bowl honors and being named NFL All-Pro in 2019, leading to a 5-year, $98.75 million contract extension in 2020.
That’s when injuries almost derailed his career. Over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Stanley only played in 7 games due to extensive ankle injuries and didn’t return until Week 5 of the 2022 season.
Since then, Stanley’s health issues have seemed to only fade into the rearview mirror. He played 11 games in 2022, 13 games in 2023 and played in all 17 games in 2024 as he was selected to his second career Pro Bowl.
Pro Football Focus has Stanley ranked No. 8 among its Top 100 NFL free agents in 2025 — the highest ranked offensive tackle and second highest ranked offensive lineman behind Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith.