ExtremeRavens Posted March 4 Posted March 4 The Ravens like to hold on to homegrown players when they can. It hasn’t always worked out, but it has been a fruitful philosophy over the years, from Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis to two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson, among others. One of the dilemmas of this offseason, however, is that they might have to choose between two longtime offensive linemen who, to this point, have spent their entire careers in Baltimore. Put another way, will the Ravens decide to keep left tackle Ronnie Stanley or left guard Patrick Mekari? Both are pending unrestricted free agents. Monday is when representatives of players due to hit the open market can begin hearing from other teams, and two days later is when those players can officially sign contracts. Given the play of each last season — Stanley was a Pro Bowl selection and Mekari proved more than just a versatile sixth man, starting all 17 games first at right tackle and then at left guard — they are both due to get healthy raises, which will likely force salary cap-strapped Baltimore to choose one over the other. Currently, the Ravens have just over $12 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap, a number that will increase with contract restructures, extensions and players being released. Still, with Stanley projected by Pro Football Focus to land a two-year deal worth $20 million per season and Mekari projected to get a three-year contract worth $8.68 million per season, keeping both would likely be cost-prohibitive — particularly with Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum and Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton in the final year of their respective rookie deals and extension-eligible, among other salary constraints. So what will the Ravens do? This week should be telling. As reported by The Baltimore Sun on Monday, talks between Stanley’s agent and the Ravens at last week’s NFL scouting combine were “productive” and there is hope between the two sides that they can agree to an extension before free agency. If that happens, it likely means Mekari will be playing elsewhere next season, especially if Baltimore views Andrew Vorhees, who started three games at left guard before getting injured and ultimately replaced, as a starter again. The Ravens also have 11 draft picks and could perhaps use one of those selections on a player such as North Dakota State’s versatile Grey Zabel, who could potentially be a 2.0 version of Mekari with the ability to play guard or tackle. What if a deal with Stanley doesn’t get done in principle by Monday? This is the careful balancing act the Ravens are currently navigating, trying to simultaneously work out a deal for Stanley while also working on one to have ready for Mekari if the former doesn’t codify. Should Stanley reach free agency and with a thin draft class at the position, it’s not impossible that the New England Patriots or some other tackle-needy team with a lot of cap space comes calling with a deal in the $23 million per year range — though given Stanley’s age, injury history and need to adapt to a new building, the expectations ran the gamut last week in Indianapolis. Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley, shown working out before the 2024 season, is a priority for the franchise in free agency. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) But if that does happen and it looks like Stanley is going to depart, Baltimore will have to act quickly to try to keep Mekari or risk losing the left side of its line in free agency. For comparison’s sake, here’s a look at the current highest-paid left tackles in terms of average annual salary: San Francisco 49ers’ Trent Williams, $27.55 million Minnesota Vikings’ Christian Darrisaw, $26 million Houston Texans’ Laremy Tunsil, $25 million New York Giants’ Andrew Thomas, $23.5 million Philadelphia Eagles’ Jordan Mailata, $22 million Denver Broncos’ Garrett Bolles, $20.5 million Buffalo Bills’ Dion Dawkins, $20.02 million Detroit Lions’ Taylor Decker, $20 million Of that group, only Darrisaw, Thomas and Mailata are under the age of 30, so it’s not unreasonable to think that some team could throw significant money at Stanley that would place him among this group. Last week, the Los Angeles Rams signed free-agent-to-be left tackle Alaric Jackson to a three-year deal with an annual average of $19 million. He’s just 26 and doesn’t have the injury history that Stanley has, but Stanley also outperformed him last season so that’s probably a good barometer of the kind of money it would take for Baltimore to retain the Notre Dame alum. As for Mekari, an undrafted free agent getting a third contract is already unusual. One spending a decade with the same team is fairy tale stuff. Here’s a closer look at the case for each player: Ronnie Stanley Most importantly, Stanley is the blindside protector for Jackson, the $260 million quarterback and face of the franchise. He’s also coming off his best season in years. The sixth overall pick in 2016, Stanley rebounded from a down season in 2023 in which he battled injury and poor play by allowing just two sacks, per PFF, and ranking 12th among tackles in ESPN’s pass block win rate last season. He also didn’t miss a game and his 70.7 PFF overall grade was his highest since 2021. The Ravens ranked 15th in pressure rate allowed, Jackson was sacked only 23 times and he threw for a career-high 4,172 yards with a franchise-record 41 touchdown passes. But Stanley will also turn 31 this month and he has a long injury history that included a season-ending ankle injury seven games into 2020 and a season-ending surgery on the same ankle one game into 2021. He missed six games in 2022 and four in 2023 while dealing with a knee injury. Should the Ravens decide to part with him, they could move right tackle Roger Rosengarten, who had a fine rookie season last year, to the left side. Or they could draft a tackle, though the rookie class is not deep at the position and neither is the free agent class. Ravens left guard Patrick Mekari could prove too expensive for the team to bring back for the 2025 season. (Amy Davis/Staff) Patrick Mekari After years of playing all over the Ravens’ offensive line, Mekari moved from right tackle and took over as a full-time starter at left guard in Week 4 and never looked back. He started every game in a season for the first time in his career. His 71.6 pass-blocking grade, according to PFF, ranked 17th among guards with at least 500 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed just one sack and his versatility allows him to play any position on the line, even as teams, including the Ravens, are looking at him as a starting guard. If the Ravens ultimately decide that Stanley is too expensive, Mekari, who’d like to stay in Baltimore given the right deal, also offers a cheaper solution with the ability to keep the majority of the line intact. Other homegrown Ravens free agents to keep an eye on Brandon Stephens: DeCosta has already said that the cornerback will get a chance to test the market. After a season in which he broke up 10 passes but had trouble locating the ball and allowed 65 catches for 806 yards, it will be interesting to see what that bears. Still, he’s still only 27, he had a strong 2023 and has positional versatility having played at safety. A third-round pick by Baltimore in 2021, it’s possible Stephens could return but only if there isn’t much interest elsewhere. Patrick Ricard: The fullback has said that he’d like to finish his career in Baltimore. The Ravens would also like to keep Ricard, 30, a five-time Pro Bowl selection and an All-Pro last season who is integral to the offense. Only about half the teams in the league utilize a fullback, which could be good news for the Ravens at retaining him at the right salary. But the Seattle Seahawks and coach Mike Macdonald and new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak are at least one team that could be interested. Their biggest problem — for now — is being $7.1 million over the cap, though that’s something that will change in the coming weeks with several salary cap moves expected. The last time Ricard was a free agent, in 2022, the Ravens re-signed him for three years and $11.25 million, or $3.75 million per year. That already ranks as the third-highest deal per year among fullbacks, behind former Ravens and current San Francisco 49ers star Kyle Juszczyk ($4.55 million) and the Miami Dolphins’ Alec Ingold ($4.07 million), so it’s not unreasonable to think that Ricard could stay in Baltimore. Malik Harrison: The versatile linebacker had career highs in tackles (54) and sacks (two) while appearing in 15 games, including seven starts last season. He also logged the second-most snaps on special teams and played both inside and outside linebacker. Like Ricard, though, his market is limited, and after a one-year deal last offseason that paid him $2.57 million with a cap hit of just under $1.3 million, he provides the kind of value the Ravens look for. Tylan Wallace: Expect the wide receiver to test the market. Wallace had career highs in catches (11) and yards (193) and his first career touchdown grab last season. The biggest problem, of course, has been getting on the field with just 501 career snaps on offense over four years — with more than half of those coming last season. Is there a team out there that views Wallace as someone who can contribute regularly on offense? If so, he’s likely gone. If not, he’ll return, with Baltimore having an interest in his special teams ability, blocking and receiving when given the opportunity. Ben Cleveland: The Ravens selected Cleveland out of Georgia in the third round of the 2021 draft. Since then, he has appeared in 54 games over four seasons, only seven of which were starts. Despite openings at guard each of the past two seasons, he was never in contention to start and this past season played a career-low 49 snaps on offense. Then he got arrested last month in Georgia on suspicion of driving under the influence. Expect the 6-foot-6, 360-pound 26-year-old to look for a fresh start elsewhere. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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