The hits just keep on coming for the Baltimore Ravens. Ronnie Stanley made his triumphant return to the gridiron on Monday night after sitting out months with a devastating ankle injury.
His return was spoiled, however, by a heart-breaking loss in overtime coupled with the fact that the offensive line played poorly. It seemed evident that something was up with Stanley.
The All-Pro left tackle allowed a whopping nine pressures on Monday night alone. In six games in 2020, he surrendered just six. In 15 games in 2019, he allowed only 10 total pressures.
This was a concerning development as it seemed clear that Stanley was still a ways off of his development. He wasn’t 100 percent — not even close.
The hope was that Stanley could continue to progress over the coming weeks, but it appears as though the Ravens now believe that he could miss an extended period of time once again.
The Ravens are preparing to be without Ronnie Stanley again
It was reported by Jason La Canfora on Thursday that the Ravens were preparing to be without Stanley in Week 2 and “possibly far longer” as he undergoes more medical testing.
La Canfora indicated that the Ravens plan to move Alejandro Villanueva back to his natural left tackle position while they allow Patrick Mekari to start at right tackle.
This is yet another blow to a Ravens team that has dealt with injury after injury in recent weeks.
The likes of J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, Marcus Peters, and L.J. Fort are already out for the season. Rashod Bateman, Nick Boyle, Tyre Phillips, and Miles Boykin are all on the injured reserve.
Soon, Stanley might be joining them.
Stanley is still recovering from ankle surgery and he sat out most of the summer as a result. The team believed that he would be healthy in time for Week 1, and while he did play, he clearly wasn’t healthy.
The Ravens don’t have much tackle depth behind Villanueva and Mekari, who isn’t even a natural tackle. Veteran Andre Smith was re-signed to the practice squad to join the likes of undrafted rookies Adrian Ealy and Foster Sarell (just signed on Thursday).
Losing Stanley for any significant period of time would likely be the most notable Ravens injury yet.
The string of bad luck continues for Baltimore.