Ravens' Ronnie Stanley explains why he agreed to drastic contract restructure

One of the Baltimore Ravens' biggest moves of the offseason was restructuring offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley's contract.

Stanley was supposed to have a cap hit of $26.2 million for the 2024 season. Instead, he and Ravens agreed to a restructured deal that reduced his base salary from $11 million to $3 million and moved much of his money into bonuses and incentives that he can make back. The move lowered his cap number by $9.6 million.

Additionally, Stanley now could become a free agent after the season.

In an interview with The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec, Stanley seemed to imply that he may have been cut if he did not agree to the restructure. After several injury-plagued seasons in which he did not play up to his standards, Stanley said he wanted to remain in Baltimore for at least one more season to "go out on a high note."

"I just wouldn’t have personally felt good about leaving Baltimore on that note. I want to play here my whole career, but even if I’m saying I’ll play one more year for a lot less, it’s because, if this is my last year, I want to go out on a high note. I want to play at the level that I know I can play at. The time that I missed, it would be something that I would have regretted. It would be something that I would think about when I’m older."

After making an All-Pro team in 2019, Stanley suffered an ankle injury in 2020 that cost him all but seven games between 2020 and 2021. Since then, he has not been the same player.

Stanley told Zrebiec that he played through a knee injury last season that he should have given more time to rest. He earned a 64.9 PFF grade for 2023.

However, Stanley has said — both during Ravens OTAs and minicamp and to Zrebiec — that he feels as good as he has since that ankle injury. Of course, there's still a lot to be determined by going closer to full-speed in training camp and preseason but Stanley told Zrebiec that he is motivated to improve his play this season.

"I want to keep playing. There’s no doubt in my mind," Stanley said. "For personal reasons, I view it as a [key] year. I want to personally refuse to have a year like last year. But there could be three more years on my deal and I’d still feel the same. It’s not because it’s the last year on my deal. It’s more because as a competitor, I don’t like not playing to my capability."

If Stanley can reach his pre-injury level, it would obviously be a huge boon for a Ravens offensive line in flux. The Ravens lost three starters on the offensive line over the offseason and don't yet have their replacements finalized (and probably won't until closer to the regular season).

Whether or not Stanley can regain any of his All-Pro form could be among the key factors as Baltimore tries to remain in Super Bowl contention.