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The Baltimore Ravens are once again looking for a way to get themselves over the hump as they enter the offseason after they fell short in the playoffs at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. One of the biggest questions this offseason surrounds star left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who is set to hit the open market. However, the Ravens could prevent him from doing so by placing the franchise tag on him.
Since entering the NFL as the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, Stanley has been one of the best left tackles in the NFL, earning two Pro Bowl selections and a spot on the All-Pro first team back in 2019. After another great season in 2024, Stanley could be set to cash in should he hit free agency. While Baltimore could franchise tag him, their tight cap situation ultimately makes such a move unlikely.
“Baltimore doesn’t have a candidate for the tag this offseason, and it doesn’t have the salary cap room even if there were one. The Ravens’ top free agent is offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, and the tag for offensive linemen is over $25 million. Baltimore is projected to rank among the bottom 10 teams in terms of cap space,” Jamison Hensley of ESPN reported.
It’s going to be tough for the Ravens to keep Stanley in town, and slapping him with the franchise tag simply isn’t a feasible option for them. They could try to extend him once he hits free agency, but given their cap situation, they would likely have to backload the deal, and it remains to be seen whether that’s something Stanley would be interested in doing.
Seeing Stanley depart after he spent the first nine seasons of his career with Baltimore would be tough, but the team may not have the money necessary to keep him in town. Front offices across the league are known to find creative ways to structure contracts to work for their salary cap situation, and it will be worth seeing if that’s something the Ravens will end up being able to do with Stanley.
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