We're mere days away from the start of NFL free agency, and the Baltimore Ravens still have work to do to prepare. The biggest task is trying to re-sign their star franchise left tackle, Ronnie Stanley. Baltimore has been in contact with Stanley and his agent since the NFL Combine, but they'll have competition if they can't get a deal done.
Reports have surfaced that teams such as the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, two key AFC rivals for Baltimore, are highly interested in Stanley. Both are prepared to make a run at him if he hits free agency. When it comes to Kansas City, they just traded Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears, so they need offensive line help. Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus listed his top five moves in free agency that would make sense. For Stanley, it was heading to Kansas City. Buday wrote:
"It has been well documented how poorly Kansas City’s left tackles fared during the 2024 season, as they allowed a pressure on 11.3% of pass plays, the NFL's worst rate. They also combined to earn a 50.0 PFF pass-blocking grade, the league's lowest. It forced the Chiefs to play guard Joe Thuney at left tackle in the second half of the season; however, since they traded Thuney to the Chicago Bears, that is not an option anymore, and they need to fix the left tackle position."
"Meanwhile, Stanley had his best season since 2020, as he earned a 70.7 PFF overall grade. However, Stanley's 80.9 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked 16th among offensive tackles, as he surrendered a pressure on just 6.7% of his teams best plays."
If Kansas City lands Stanley, it wouldn't be the first time they acquired a Baltimore offensive tackle after losing a Super Bowl. After their Super Bowl defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, they traded for Baltimore tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to improve their offensive line. Unlike Brown, however, Stanley would be a free agent.
Baltimore doesn't have much time left to re-sign Stanley, and he'll have a big market waiting for him if he hits free agency. If Stanley reaches free agency, the question will be how far general manager Eric DeCosta is willing to go when bidding against other teams. As with every offseason, it's about the right player at the right price. However, the Ravens would prefer to get something done before it reaches that point.