The progress of All-Pro left Ronnie Stanley's recovery from ankle surgery is vitally important to the Ravens. Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine, General Manager Eric DeCosta gave an update on Stanley, and it was positive.
"I feel like I can say Ronnie feels farther ahead now than he did at the same stage last year," DeCosta said, although he gave no specific timetable for Stanley's return. "He's excited, he's very optimistic, I think he's working hard. As an organization, we're very optimistic. As I said before, I'm not going to make the same mistake. We'll have contingency plans moving forward. But we're optimistic that Ronnie is making good progress."
Stanley suffered a season-ending ankle injury in 2019 and played just one game last season before undergoing another procedure.
Strengthening the offensive line is a major offseason priority for the Ravens, perhaps the biggest position priority after Lamar Jackson was sacked a career-high 38 times in 2021. If Stanley makes a full recovery in time for Week 1, it would be a major boost to the offensive line, and more additions to Baltimore's offensive line are expected from this draft class.
DeCosta said the team has already met with Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal, who is expected to be a top-five pick, and spoke highly of Texas A&M offensive tackle Charles Cross and Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum.
"Offensive line, I think is very, very strong this year," DeCosta said. "We had a chance to meet with some guys already. I'm impressed with the players that we have met with."
