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The Baltimore Ravens continue to keep their best players, signing left tackle Ronnie Stanley to a five-year contract extension. While the cost is certainly high, paying him $98.75 million in new money over five years, it’s money well spent.
Stanley had a spectacular 2019 season that put him on par with Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden. Stanley allowed no sacks in the regular season and only six quarterback pressures, the fewest Pro Football Focus had recorded, beating Ogden’s impressive stat line from 2006. It wasn’t just a one-year fluke either. Stanley has cemented his status as one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL with outstanding play yet again this season. According to PFF, Stanley has allowed no sacks in 2020 and has an overall grade of 81.5, which ranks ninth in the league currently.
But Stanley means more to the Ravens than just what he’s done on the field. With the loss of right guard Marshal Yanda this offseason, Stanley has taken on the role of being the de facto leader of the offensive line and even the offense itself at times. While quiet in demeanor, Stanley helps set the tone for Baltimore — a role he was excited to take on this season following Yanda’s retirement.
Though it cost the Ravens a pretty penny to keep Stanley, it’s a wise investment that means more than just one player. At some point, Baltimore is going to have to pay quarterback Lamar Jackson — likely a record-setting contract or at least close to one. Protecting that investment in Jackson by keeping him upright and healthy is a necessity if the Ravens want to get back to another Super Bowl and there’s no better protection than Stanley manning the left edge of the offensive line.
While it’s easy to say Baltimore didn’t really have much of a choice here, the Ravens weren’t careless with their money either. It would have been easy for Baltimore to hand Stanley a record-breaking contract of his own this offseason to potentially lower his 2020 salary-cap hit and ensure he stuck around. But the Ravens’ patience clearly paid off with Stanley’s deal falling below the average value the Houston Texans paid left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Despite being a better tackle than Tunsil, Stanley is getting paid quite a bit less. Tunsil currently has the top deal, earning an average of $22 million per year with Stanley’s $19.75 million per year value falling well short. Even the guaranteed money is better, with Tunsil getting $40 million of his $66 million deal guaranteed ($13.3 million per year average) while Stanley has $58 million of his $98.75 million contract guaranteed ($11.6 million per year average).
It’s a deal that makes both sides happy. The Ravens get a bit of a value by inking Stanley to a long-term deal and a chance to structure the contract to be more cap-friendly where needed. Meanwhile, Stanley gets a ridiculous sum of money, including quite a lot up front, and a chance to get a second big contract early in his 30s. It’s great news and something Ravens fans should be pumped about.
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