The Ravens have reworked Ronnie Stanley's contract, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, keeping the talented veteran left tackle in Baltimore.
All NFL teams must be under the salary cap by 4 p.m. Wednesday, when the new league year begins.
Stanley had a salary-cap hit of $26.168 million this year, per Over the Cap. The Ravens could have reportedly saved $15 million with a post-June 1 cut.
Instead, the reworked contract would give the Ravens more salary-cap room and more stability at a critical position.
Stanley admitted that his 2023 was a challenge as he once again was plagued with injuries. He dealt with two knee injuries last season, which limited him to 13 games. Stanley finished 45th among offensive tackles in Pro Football Focus' grades, surrendering five sacks and 42 pressures.
"I'm not satisfied, not playing to what my standard is for myself," Stanley said the day following the Ravens' AFC Championship loss, in which he was beaten for a sack/strip. "Being more consistent is something I pride myself on. I've got to keep moving forward and making sure I'm better next year."
Since signing a five-year contract midway through the 2020 season, Stanley has missed 36 games. He suffered a major ankle injury days after the contract was signed, knocking him out for the rest of that season and almost all of the following year.
"Unfortunately, Ronnie, no fault of his own, he has had a series of injuries that have hurt him and hurt his performance," General Manager Eric DeCosta said in the season-review press conference. "So that's definitely been a factor.
"I love Ronnie, he's still a talented player. I think this is going to be a big offseason for him getting himself healthy, getting himself strong again, and coming back in good football shape."
The Ravens have been clear about undergoing an offensive line "rebuild" this offseason, but letting go of Stanley would have left an obvious hole at left tackle. The Ravens already have potentially two starting guard spots to fill with John Simpson headed to the New York Jets and Kevin Zeitler as one of the best remaining options on the free-agent market.
Baltimore could still opt to draft an eventual left tackle replacement in a loaded draft class, but now the Ravens aren't locked into doing so and have the hope that Stanley can return to his previous Pro Bowl form.
