Board Buzz: What to do About Ronnie Stanley & OL?

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Just because we’re in a bit of a lull in the NFL calendar as we await the start of the NFL Combine a little over a week from now doesn’t mean the conversation slows down at the best damn Ravens forum around!

Some highlights this week include…

Draft or Free Agent Kicker?

It seems like a foregone conclusion at this point that we’ll never see #9 attempt another kick for the Baltimore Ravens. Without getting too much into that, let’s instead figure out how he’s going to be replaced. Super Moderator Eastern Shore Fan (1840 posts) gets the discussion started.

Veteran poster Dale (3855 posts) identifies some targets in the draft class:

There’s 3 good PKs in this draft-Fitzgerald, Borregales and Sauls. There’s very little likelihood all 3 will be drafted. IF all three are available @ 245/RD 7 then I would say draft one.

My personal preferences-Fitzgerald, Sauls, Borregales in that order. If we don’t draft one then I still think one or more will be available as an UDFA. It’ll just be a matter of signing one.

Ronnie Stanley Watch from Pro Football Rumors

Ronnie Stanley stayed healthy and reestablished himself as a reliable left tackle in 2024. Now, though, he’s up for a contract and could be quite a hot commodity on the open market. “The Speaker of Truth,” GOTA (52K posts), links to Pro Football Rumors and what they’re currently saying about him.

Stanley is the most proven pending free agent as his position, though a number of potential starters will be available in March. Cam Robinson and Alaric Jackson started for most of last season, while Tyron Smith, Joseph Noteboom, and Jedrick Wills all missed significant time due to injury. None played as well as Stanley in 2024, though he did benefit from Lamar Jackson‘s elite ability to evade pressure and avoid sacks.

Unlike last year’s tackle-rich draft class, the 2025 draft has just two surefire first-round tackles: Will Campbell out of LSU and Kelvin Banks Jr. out of Texas. Neither is expected to fall to the Ravens at the 27th overall pick, and general manager Eric DeCosta is extremely unlikely to trade up. Re-signing Stanley has long seemed like Baltimore’s best and most likely option, though the team was willing to gamble with their offensive line last year.

In addition to the Ravens, Stanley could receive interest from teams like the Patriots and the Jaguars. Both teams have ample cap space this offseason and need new left tackles to protect their franchise quarterbacks. After their stunning Super Bowl defeat due to a leaky offensive line, the Chiefs could also be a dark-horse contender for Stanley’s services. However, he will be 31 by the time the 2025 regular season rolls around. The longtime Raven may very well conclude that his best fit and chance to win a championship will be in Baltimore where he has spent his entire career.

This topic is up to 11 pages of posts in just two days. But for some reason we’re talking about Gronk…?

How Would You Build the Offensive Line this Season?

Staying in the trenches, The Excellector (56K posts) broadens the discussion a bit:

We have argued over whether or not our Offensive Line is currently good enough to win a Super Bowl and overcome teams such as the Chiefs and the Eagles. Regardless, what we all agree upon is that games are most often won and lost in the trenches and we would all be glad to see improvement on the Offensive Line. So I felt this might be a good thread for everyone to discuss how they would go about making changes and trying to improve the Offensive Line this off-season.

What’s Ex think? He answers that a few posts down the thread:

I have a plan A and a plan B. Admittedly, I haven’t watched footage of the college prospects yet. So, my ideas are general.

My plan A is very similar to PGCountyRavens. Bring back Stanley and use void years if necessary. Draft a Guard to compete with Voorhees. I actually like Voorhees and feel like he could take a step or two forward being a full year removed from injury. But I’m not willing to bank on that without a plan B. Linderbaum obviously stays. I bring back Kevin Zeitler, and still draft another Guard to sit behind him. I would also draft a Tackle.

LT: Stanley
G: Voorhees/Draft pick
C: Linderbaum
RG: Zeitler
RT: Rosengarten

If we’re truly out-priced when it comes to Stanley and he’s offered something absurd, I move Rosengarten to LT, and bring in a veteran FA RT who excels at zone blocking

LT: Rosengarten
LG: Voorhees/Draft Pick
C: Linderbaum
RG: Zeitler
RT: Veteran FA/Draft Pick

And honestly, I trade Andrews and Oweh for draft picks and use them to maneuver this draft.

Harbaugh’s Doghouse

Member Greg Pappas wonders if anyone ever gets out of the famous “John Harbaugh Doghouse.”

We’ve witnessed and read about Harbaugh’s doghouse over the years and have discussed those affected by it, but my memory is fuzzy about whether any of those in the doghouse ever get out. Does anyone come through a better player?

Read along for a frustrating trip down memory lane…

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