Ronnie Stanley has never been more motivated entering 2024 season

In 2023, Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley was hampered by injury. It’s been a disappointing theme of his career since a severe ankle injury in 2020. And as frustrated as fans are, it bothers Stanley far more.

“It was killing me,” Stanley said in June. “We may have been playing well, but it was really killing me on the inside just knowing that I wasn’t playing to my potential. That’s something that is harder for me to live with.”

Stanley knows his ceiling is higher than what the tape showed in 2023, and is willing to put his training camp tape of the past seven practices against it.

“I feel like I’m already playing better than I was at any point last year – for sure,” Stanley said.

This offseason, Stanley agreed to a reworked contract that came with a $7.5 million pay cut. There are incentives that could help him surpass that, and he received $6 million guaranteed with the reworked deal, but the deal also has him as a free agent on March 3, 2025. A lot is on the line for Stanley as he aims to prove he can both stay on the field and play at a top-tier level, all which has Stanley more motivated than ever.

“Yes, I would say that’s pretty fair [to say he’s the most motivated he’s ever been],” Stanley said. “I mean, I think the last couple years have not been my best, and I haven’t really been happy about it since a long time – since I can remember as a football player – so, I feel like I have a lot to prove to myself [to] just be the player I know I can be. And they say there’s no testimony without a test, so I’m very fortunate to just have the opportunity to prove myself and to prove what I know I can do.”

Since the reworked contract, Stanley’s been in attendance for it all; volunteer organized team activities, mandatory minicamp and each training camp practice. In early June, Stanley shared why he has perfect attendance.

“First of all, I think it’s always good to be around the guys and be able to do football things – be able to do drills,” Stanley said. “[There’s] some stuff you really can’t mimic on your own, so it’s good in that case. Also, I just know that we have a lot of new faces, a lot of new guys [that are] going to be part of this team [and] part of this offense. [I] just want to make sure we get our chemistry off on the right start.”

The Ravens will need Stanley to anchor the left side if they hope to return to the AFC Championship game. By the sounds of it, a healthy, motivated and confident Stanley is ready for the challenge.

“We’re the tip of the spear, so us and the D-line, we’re the ones setting the line, so we set the tone on both sides of the ball,” Stanley said. “We take pride in that and knowing that we can help ‘L.J.’ [Lamar Jackson] make all these fantastic plays that he does, and we can make these things easier for him, [and] give him less anxiety to where he can really perform at the highest of levels.”