Ronnie Stanley Confident He Can Return to Top Form

Ronnie Stanley was a first-team All-Pro in 2019, considered the best left tackle in the NFL.

That’s the stature that Stanley wants back. And for the first time in years, Stanley feels healthy enough to be that guy, as good as he’s felt since the start of the 2020 season.

“There’s zero doubt in my head that if I’m playing the way I usually play, to my standard, I’m the best tackle,” Stanley said Tuesday following the first day of mandatory minicamp.

It’s been a long road for Stanley since 2020, when he fractured his ankle in Week 7 just days after signing a contract that made him the league’s highest-paid tackle at the time. The injury ended Stanley’s 2020 season, and he played just one game in 2021 before electing to have more surgery on the same ankle.

Stanley returned to play 11 games in 2022 and 13 games in 2023, but a knee injury suffered early last season limited his strength and mobility. He simply wasn’t healthy enough to dominate like he once did, and that fact took a toll both physically and mentally.

“It was killing me on the inside, knowing that I wasn’t playing to my potential,” Stanley said. “But I’m moving on from last year.”

Stanley dedicated this offseason to getting stronger and healthier and the results have been impressive. He has been a constant presence since the beginning of OTAs, looking lean, strong, and determined. The pads haven’t come on yet, but it’s obvious Stanley is in a better place physically.

He confirmed that he agreed to restructure his contract in March, paving the way for him to return to Baltimore for his ninth season, a place where the sixth-[add]overall pick in 2016 always loved to play.

“Baltimore is like a second home to me,” Stanley said. “Missing a lot of time … I would probably have some regret leaving Baltimore not on the note that I want to leave it on.

“I just take every season as if it would be my last.”