OWINGS MILLS — Left tackle Ronnie Stanley says he is in the best shape of his NFL career.
That’s good news for the Ravens, who need Stanley to protect quarterback Lamar Jackson’s blind side.
After dealing with injuries over the past few seasons, Stanley has been an active participant in the voluntary workouts and mandatory minicamp this week, and he has looked dominant
“I feel great,” he said. “I feel like I’m as strong and as quick and as athletic as I’ve ever been. So, I’m ready to put that all on the field.”
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Stanley was selected by the Ravens in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. He was named First-Team All-Pro in 2019 and the Ravens have relied heavily on his experience when he is in the lineup.
However, Stanley has been sidelined for 33 games between 2020 and 2022 with an ankle injury. The 30-year-old appeared in 13 games last season after dealing with an early knee injury.
He has not shown any ill-effects in the recent practices. He thought it was important to be at the voluntary practices to work with some of his new teammates and lead by example.
Stanley is the longest-tenured player on the offensive line.
“First of all, I think it’s always good to be around the guys and be able to do football things – be able to do drills,” Stanley said. “[There’s] some stuff you really can’t mimic on your own, so it’s good in that case. Also, I just know that we have a lot of new faces, a lot of new guys [that are] going to be part of this team [and] part of this offense. [I] just want to make sure we get our chemistry off on the right start.”
Stanley showed his commitment to the Ravens by restructuring his contract to reduce his $26.2 million cap hit this season to give general manager Eric DeCosta more flexibility in free agency.
He’s eager to return to his All-Pro form.
“Baltimore is a like a second home to me,” Stanley said. “Going on my ninth year and missing a lot of time, if that was my last year, [it] just wouldn’t really sit right with me. I would probably have some regret leaving Baltimore [not] on the note that I want to leave it on.”