The Baltimore Ravens are working with left tackle Ronnie Stanley on a contract extension, with the hopes of keeping their franchise player in town for the foreseeable future following his fifth-year option. But doing that is going to cost Baltimore a fortune . . . At least if we use the contract the Houston Texans gave Laremy Tunsil this offseason as the bar.

The Texans and Tunsil reset the offensive tackle market with a three-year contract extension worth $66 million with $57.85 million in guaranteed money, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. While Houston didn’t really have a choice after trading multiple first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for Tunsil, the record-breaking contract will reverberate down the chain and ultimately to the Ravens and Stanley.

Even though Tunsil had massive amounts of leverage over the Texans, something Stanley doesn’t have as much of over Baltimore, there’s a real case to be made for Stanley earning even more money. Whether that means a higher average-per-year, more guaranteed money, or a longer extension for a higher total, Stanley is likely to be shooting to beat Tunsil in at least one of those points. And for good reason.

Stanley might not get as much recognition as other Ravens players but he played a vital role in Baltimore breaking record after record and owning the best rushing offense in NFL history. He excels both at run blocking and pass protection, arguably making him the best tackle in the league right now.

In 2019, Stanley had a tremendous campaign. While solid in the run game, it was pass blocking for quarterback Lamar Jackson where he excelled. According to Pro Football Focus, Stanley allowed just six pressures last season, the lowest total by an offensive tackle in 14 years. His 93.7 pass-blocking grade for the season was among the best PFF has ever given out at the position, falling just behind two Hall of Fame tackles in Jonathan Ogden and Joe Thomas.

While Tunsil had a good season as well, he didn’t quite live up to the level Stanley set. Tunsil allowed three sacks and 20 pressures, compared to Stanley’s no sacks and six pressures. That disparity in production should be enough evidence for Stanley’s agent to start negotiations above the terms Tunsil got.

Using Over The Cap’s 2019 valuations for both players, Stanley was worth 4.54% more than Tunsil. Extrapolating that difference in valuation on Tunsil’s current deal would put Stanley at just under $23 million per season and $69 million over three years. If allowed to hit free agency, I doubt Stanley would have much trouble getting a deal for that amount.

For Baltimore, they have to weigh paying a massive amount of money to one player over spreading that cap space out to sign other young players and free agents. However, giving Stanley a big contract is the right move here.

As the Ravens have found before following the retirement of Ogden and now Marshal Yanda, replicating that level of production can be near impossible. While investing that much money in one player can be a daunting thought, moving on from Stanley over what would be a few million dollars would put the offense in an unnecessary hole and likely kill their Super Bowl window. At least for the next three or four years, Baltimore would be best served by having the top left tackle in the game in the huddle, whatever the cost.

Whether the Ravens can get a bit of a hometown discount or get Stanley to sign a longer-term contract that has a lower average payout will remain to be seen. But everything is set up for Stanley to get paid in Baltimore.

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