T RONNIE STANLEY
There was a lot of buzz about if you reached free agency about how there could even be a bidding war for you. What went into your decision to sign with the Ravens before free agency? (Jamison Hensley) "I think it just goes back to the fact that they drafted me straight out of college [and] took a chance on me, so I'm always going to give them first dibs when it comes to things like that, out of respect."
Yeah, just along those lines, Ronnie, was there ever any part of you that was even just a little curious about considering going elsewhere and anything else beyond that in terms of your decision to come back? (Brian Wacker) "Yes, I was open to whatever was going to happen. I knew the [salary] cap situation we were in and how many players we need to pay, current and future younger guys, and so I knew it wasn't going to be a personal thing. So going into it, I was kind of open to what was going to happen, and it ended up working for the best."
We've seen you in recent years increase your leadership role working with some of the guys before and after practice? How important is legacy to you and being able to say that you played at the same place your whole career? (Jeff Zrebiec) "That's a good question. That definitely gets brought up to me a lot, especially going into my 10th year, and all of them are going to be in Baltimore, and that's something that growing up, I've never even, that wasn't even a goal of mine really. That wasn't something I ever thought about. But that being said, [with] it actually happening – I am realizing how rare of a thing it is, and I think it's just a really cool thing to be able to spend 10 years of my career-plus with the same team that I got drafted with. And I don't know the percentages of things like that happening, but I think that's a really cool thing. I'm very happy and appreciative that I could be one of those players that could experience that."
You mentioned on understanding the cap situation. I was wondering if that was something that you kept in mind as you were negotiating with the team, just thinking about what they need to do to be able to build this roster as they're resigning you. (Giana Han) "I mean that's definitely something that crosses my mind, but I don't think that was the main driver for it all. I just think I knew I was going to give Baltimore the best bargain that I would offer to any other team. But that being said, I still wanted to be happy with what I'm making and make sure I'm getting the value that I feel like I deserve from just the job description and the things that go into what my job has to do. So, I think, and the deal was, I think it was a good balance that could help the team and something I'm still happy with."
You guys have this elite offense, but does it also feel like a little bit of unfinished business as well to want to make sure that you know how good you can be, but just haven't quite gotten in the postseason where you want to go? (Pete Gilbert) "Yes, for sure. I don't think there's … We've broken so many records in the last however many years – I don't think we really care about it to be honest, especially the guys that have been here. I think the only thing we really care about is winning a Super Bowl. So yes, all that other stuff for sure is nice and all. But yes, [we] definitely [have] unfinished business. I don't think anyone's really happy."
I know obviously it's a very personal decision to you, but how much of a factor was your relationship with Lamar Jackson and how this offense has really been built around him, and were you able to talk to him before you made your decision or after? (Kyle Goon) "Well, first of all, I think my decision to come back, I think the players for sure had the biggest role to do with it, [with] the locker room and the type of players that we have, including Lamar [Jackson]. And I was talking to Lamar a lot, but not about contracts, but me and Lamar, we talk all the time, but he never really brings that stuff up. I never really brought that stuff up to him when he was going through his deal. I think we just talk more like brothers. But yes, we talked through the whole process – not once about contracts – but the players are definitely the biggest driver of why I like being in Baltimore."
You played all 17 games and a career-high snaps last year. Just wondering how proud were you able to do that and also having played 10 years, how much have you learned about some of it's luck, but taking care of yourself, feeling like I really have quite a few more years left to play elite football? Is that something that you think about at this point? (Cliff Brown) "Like you said, I think part of it is luck. You have to get a little lucky to not have something bad happen in this game, but the other side of it is taking care of your body, and I feel like that's something I always try to put an emphasis on throughout my whole career. I always try to look to get different advantages or the flexibility, hydration, whatever it is. I was very happy to play all the games this [past] year, but I don't think, for me, it was something that I was thinking about too much. Before injuries, I want to play. So it's like, if I can play, I'm going to play. So, it's not really something I'm thinking about too much, it's just go out there and play. But after the fact you hear like, 'Oh, you played so many games [or] so many snaps.' You start reminding me throughout the season, I'm like, 'I'm not even thinking about it.' I'm just [of the mindset], 'If I can play, I'm going to play. If I can't because I'm injured, I can't.' That's just the nature of it. But that being said, [I'm] very happy, fortunate, blessed that I was able to come out healthy, and [I'm] feeling great."
Just curious what your reaction was when you saw that WR DeAndre Hopkins was coming to Baltimore, and what challenge is facing the offensive line, having to replace Patrick Mekari? (Noah Trister) "I mean I had a huge smile on my face when we signed 'D-Hop' [DeAndre Hopkins]. You know what you're getting with that guy. I think he's a Hall of Fame-caliber wide receiver, and I still think he has a lot of good reps, years, seasons in him. And he's a physical player, he's a competitive player, and I think he's going to fit into our team really well. And then your second question, replacing Pat [Mekari]'s going to be tough, he's behind Tyler [Linderbaum], I think, well, I know he's the next most knowledgeable guy [of] understanding the entire offense, and I think Pat's one of the best examples of what a professional football player should be like. And I know Jacksonville – they got a great player in him, and he's going to be a great leader for them, and we're definitely going to miss him here. He has been a great player for us. He's played every single position. He's a unicorn. So, we're going to miss him."
Was there anything during the process when negotiations with the Ravens that, did you ever feel there was a point where you might not return to the Ravens that you might go and test free agency? Was there any part in that process that you thought that? (Jamison Hensley) "I don't think we ever got that far to really feel that about it. I didn't really feel that yet. They showed interest. We were talking, so I think just through the whole time I knew that they were interested, and we were possibly going to get something done."
Most of the offensive line is returning. How big a deal is that to have that continuity? And then Andrew Vorhees is a guy who could certainly start next to you at left guard. Just your thoughts on Vorhees and his development last year. (Ryan Mink) "I think having all the guys back is a big deal just to have that chemistry, but it's a new season, so I think we have to come in with that mindset. We have to kind of build all that back up. It's not just going to kind of roll over. And I think Andrew Vorhees, I think he's going to have a great career. I think he's a prototypical NFL guard, and I think he's going to battle with those big D-tackles second to none, so he'll be great. And he's a smart guy as well, very intelligent, athletic, [and I'm] very excited to work with him."
I think the last time we saw you, you were obviously upset after that Bills' game. Just curious how long it took you to get over that. (Brian Wacker) "I couldn't tell you exact timeline, but it definitely took me a minute to get over that. But those are the type of games that just stick with you for a while, maybe even a lifetime. But I think the focus is on seeing all the opportunities around all the good things that came, not only from the season, but even from that game. There's a lot of good things that happened in that game, even though we didn't get the result we wanted. But I think it is good to look at the positives that come from a lot of these negatives."
Just as a follow up, what do you think you guys need to do to kind of get over that hump? Is it kind of as simple as executing better when you get those chances in the playoffs, or is it something else? (Brian Wacker) "Yes, I think it's as simple as that. I think it's just getting out of our own way a little bit, not beating ourselves."
Now that you have had a few weeks, I'm curious how you would evaluate your season last year as a whole, and what do you want to improve on or show now that you're back? (Giana Han) "I was happy with way I played. I was specifically, I think just my mindset that I had throughout the whole year – I think that's what was probably the thing that made me the happiest. I thought I played well. I still think I can play better, and that's just how I am. But I do think there's a lot to improve on, just getting stronger, smarter, understand the game more, better footwork, all the little things. And I think that's what's allowed me to play for as long as I have, is there's always little things that can get better, and those things add up and then people are looking like, 'Oh, he's doing something crazy.' But it's really just little things."
Head Coach John Harbaugh
On where his passion for helping high school students came from and why it's important: "That's the best question that we're going to have all day today. The high school experience ... We all came through high school; we all understand how formative that is, right? And the high school experience, whether it's sports, football, or basketball, or band, or theater, or clubs, or whatever, makes a huge difference in young lives. And you know that. The impact that you have as a coach in any one of those areas – just like a teacher – can be life transformational. It can be transformational for amazing things; it can be transformational for not so good things, or bad things too. The idea that we want to help coaches in every way we can to be the best that they can be for the young people that they're responsible for because they took on that job of coaching them. It is something that is really important – it should be important to all of us. It's important to the Harbaugh Coaching Academy, to us, and we want to help out where we can."
On one piece of advice he got from his high school coach: "One piece of advice I got from my high school coach? We had a coach whose name was Pete Palmer – he was called 'Pushup Pete.' He was my baseball coach. And if you didn't run out a ground ball or a fly ball, you got to run around the football stadium, which is about half a mile. Baseball players don't like running too much sometimes, so hustle, hustle. That's probably the best advice I got early on. Hustle serves you well in life. Thanks."
On if he has the same views on the allegations against K Justin Tucker as executive vice president & general manager Eric DeCosta: "Absolutely. It's not what you want to wake up and read. You don't want to read about it. It's not something you want to see. I don't care what it is in terms of things that are hurtful and harmful to people. There are too many headlines like that; there are too many stories that you hear that make you just sad and disappointed. And you don't ever want to see a circumstance, a situation, especially as if it relates to your world where anybody is made to feel less than great when they are involved in a work experience somewhere. As it touches all of us in our lives, we want to do everything that we can to make sure it's just the opposite, that everybody feels like they have a great work experience. You guys have been in our place every day, and you know what we try to do with that. That's just really a tough deal. The NFL is looking into it. They're going to review it, they're going to try to gather all the facts, and I'm sure we'll have an understanding of it at that time, but once there's an understanding of it, then you have a chance to make some decisions and determinations and things like that, and that's where we're at right now."
On how difficult it is to hear the allegations against K Justin Tucker: "Yes, and that's what we're waiting to try and do is reconcile it. That's what the process is for. That's why you have to come to an understanding if you can of what happened. We all have questions, but nobody knows exactly what happened, so let's see where the review takes us."
On when he first learned about the allegations against K Justin Tucker: "I learned after [executive vice president & general manager] Eric [DeCosta] told me. I think right before it came out, maybe The [Baltimore] Banner called Eric and told him that there was something coming out. We didn't know anything about what it was going to be, so I knew what it was when I read it, and then a week-and-a-half [to] two weeks after that, I gave Justin [Tucker] a call on a Sunday morning, and we had a conversation about it and talked about it, more from a perspective of being together for all these years and kind of what he was going through and what he was dealing with that and kind of how he's handling it with his family, and that's really what we talked about."
On how he approaches the K Justin Tucker situation when it rises to the national level: "Great question. Really, it's not so much about what level nationally or what level [of] attention something gets, it's the fact that it's so important to somebody in our program. To me, people walk in the door in this job and have an appointment, sometimes we call it, but things come up all the time. You could be dug deep in some football-related task, and someone walks in your door that's number one important to them, and they're talking to the boss, so to speak – or the head coach or whatever – and they just need your time and they need your attention. So, to me, it's exactly the same any one of those conversations that you'd have."
On potentially looking at kickers in the 2025 NFL Draft: "Well, sure. Every position is important, we're going to look at every single position, but certainly [in] different years, you're going to look at different positions. We're looking at kickers; we're looking at a lot of positions. We're looking at every position, but I'd say the kicker position would have been a priority no matter what because Justin [Tucker] is our kicker, we love him, and I always would have expected him to keep going forever, but nobody goes forever. So, we have to look at every position like we do."
On all of the team's coaching changes over the past few years and the new coaches in 2025: "That's the thing, we've found in the last three, four, or five years, we've had a lot of coaching changes, and there's different reasons for different coaching changes. Guys have gotten opportunities, we've had a lot of success, and that's a good thing, but it's also a challenging thing, because from the coaching side, there's nothing more important than your staff, and we have a great coaching staff. We've had great coaches come through. I'm going to be talking to Anthony Weaver and Mike Macdonald later today, and those guys are two of the great coaches that have helped us become kind of what we are as a program. So, I'm excited about [sr. defensive assistant/secondary coach] Chuck Pagano. Chuck has been there before. He's coming back. He's a great coach. He's a great guy. He started it. He helped start [our program] back in 2008 to 2011. I love Chuck, and I think he's going to bring a lot to the table. And then [defensive backs coach] Donald D'Alesio is a young guy who's got a lot of talent, and [inside linebackers coach] Tyler Santucci is going to do a great job with the linebackers and [assistant linebackers coach] Matt Pees. I'm really happy with all of those guys."
On how eager he is to look at the defensive tackle prospects in this year's draft class: "It starts there. It starts on the offensive and defensive line, so we're going to be looking at both lines really hard. You look at every position. It's a deep running back class from what I've been told, too, so we'll be looking at that position, too. But yes, game-wrecking defensive tackles, [it's] kind of a big deal. Pass-pressuring defensive ends, that's kind of a big deal, too."
On how his thought process has evolved on assembling assistant coaches: "Yes, well, our analysts are in that list, just so you know. We have about the same number of guys on the field – and women coaches too on the field. We have the most women coaches in the league which I'm really proud of that. We have a very diverse coaching staff – I'm really proud of that – and we have a great coaching staff, most importantly, and that's the thing I'm most proud of."
On the benefit of having so many coaching analysts: "Well, everybody has them, but they're just not listed on the coaching staff. We just give them coaching staff credit. I think the Browns have 24 people in their analytics department, so that would make them the biggest coaching staff in the league."
On female coaches for the Ravens: "Our women coaches are doing a great job. They're coaching football, they're contributing to our team, they're learning, [and] they're younger coaches in the weight room, on the football side, through the administrative [areas and] through the analytic part of it. We have some great young people coaching for us, so I'm excited about that."
On any position groups that stands out to him in this draft class: "Yes, that's probably a better [executive vice president & general manager] Eric [DeCosta] question. I've personally watched the tackles and guards right now so far on offense. That's where I'm through, and I like a lot of those guys, so that's what I can speak to."
On what he thinks Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh learned about himself in his first year back in the NFL: (laughter) "I don't know, man. [Jim Harbaugh] seems like the same Jim to me. People, maybe with the Chargers, learned how good he is and how much fun he is to be around every day. You're around him a lot, and he's ... I was just talking to [Chargers GM] Joe Hortiz coming down the hallway here, and he said, 'We work really hard, and we have a lot of fun doing it.' That's something that Jim has always been about. He's fun to be around. He's all ball. If you like football, you like being a Charger, and I feel the same way about the Ravens. [We] kind of run similar-type programs, and that's kind of what it should be about."
On if he's discussed potential replay changes or other rule changes with coaches around the league: "That's a great question. I have been very involved with that, and you can ask anybody that. They'll probably tell you that, 'Yes, he's been a little bit of a pain about that.' The thing I appreciate about the League is there is great dialogue with that, and they do. [NFL commissioner] Roger [Goodell] wants to hear everybody's opinion, and [NFL executive vice president of football operations] Troy [Vincent] wants to hear everybody's opinion, and those guys are kind of at the top of the food chain, and it kind of works from there through the competition committee and all that, so they're great. No, I haven't always gotten what I've suggested. Most of the time, [they are] doing what I think is right. The coaches talk a lot, too. As far as replay [changes], I'm about [having] as much replay as we can that makes sense. Some things don't make sense with replay, but to me, the end of the deal should be to get it right as much as we can, and with technology, that allows you to get more and more right through different avenues of replay."
On if the team comes to an agreement on those things before they vote: "We do. [Owner] Steve [Bisciotti] is the boss. Steve ultimately makes the call, but he listens to all of us. Then, it's not too often where ... We all come to an agreement. One of our philosophies that we agree to agree. It might be either-or or a third option or fourth option or some way of looking at [it] that melds all the ideas together, but we always try to agree to agree."
On how much pride he takes at former Ravens coaches developing and moving on to other opportunities: "Thanks, I do. You take a lot of pride in that. You take a lot of pride in the fact that your coaches are going off and they're doing well, and you kind of see the personality of the teams that they coach or the units they coach. You feel like, 'Man, that looks familiar to me.' That's something that – you do, you take a lot of pride in that, especially as you get older. You start feeling better and better about that, so I love our guys. I don't love playing against them all the time. That's not so much fun, but you love what they're building."
On if he would be comfortable moving T Roger Rosengarten to LT if the Ravens don't retain T Ronnie Stanley: "Absolutely, yes. That would be one of the options we could go to. It would depend on the Draft and different things like that and free agency. I think we'll probably keep Ronnie [Stanley]; [I'm] hopeful that we will, but if we don't, we'll have an option, and that would be one of them, for sure."
On if OL Andrew Vorhees is in the mix: "Yes, [Andrew] Vorhees has a great shot at that. He looked really good at the end of the year when he played. There are other guys in there, too, in that mix."
On if injury was the reason OL Andrew Vorhees fell out of the rotation: "Yes, it was early in [Andrew Vorhees'] career, and someone came in there and played really well. Pat [Mekari] went in there and played great, and that was the better option, but Andrew was working all the way through and developing and then all of a sudden – boom – he's back on the field. You guys don't see the practices, but then he's back on the field, and he played really well. That was because of all the work between then and when he got his opportunity."
On his feelings on the "tush push" play: "To me, you have to take all of those rules holistically. What effect does one rule change have on the next thing? So, if you take out the 'tush push,' then you're going to take out all pushing. A guy can't be downfield, and the offensive linemen can't come running in and push the ball carrier five more yards. You can't take one out but not the other. They are the same, just like you're not supposed to be able to grab a running back and pull him into the end zone. That hasn't been officiated. They've allowed that to happen. That's already against the rules. How are you going to officiate that? So, if we want to say that you can't help push a [running] back, then you can take out the 'tush push.' If you're going to say that's still allowed, then, in my opinion, can't take out the 'tush push.' So, I'm good with it. I'm OK with the 'tush push,' yes."
On the importance of adding a pass rusher this offseason and getting home with four pass rushers instead of sending more pressure: "We believe in both. You want to be able to get there with three [pass rushers] and maybe make them hold it a little longer. You want to be able to get there with simulated [pressures], when you bring four [pass rushers], but it's not the guy you expect to come and make them hold the ball with coverage disguise. You want to be able to get there with four rushers. The teams that have those guys, they do a great job with them. We have those guys, too. We've done that a lot. You want to be able to get home with zone blitzes, man blitzes, with all-out blitzes. We like to keep it moving. We like to keep people guessing. That's kind of our format, and a four-man rush – absolutely – [that's a] big part of that."
On if he can explain the "zero tolerance" policy as it pertains to Justin Tucker: "That's to be determined. That's to be determined. That's something we have to find out. That's what the review is for – to gain an understanding of what we're even talking about. You can't take an action without understanding. You have to get the facts and understand what happened as best you can. Then, you take the situation for what it is, but the principle is the same. How you define that principle, that term a little bit and how ... Maybe we'll come out and make a definition of that at some point in time. That's something that would be interesting to me. I think everybody understands the idea there, and let's see where the review takes us."
On if he regrets saying that there is a "zero tolerance" policy: "Absolutely not."
