Ronnie Stanley has been through it in the last few years.
Mere days after signing an extension that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the 国产外流网in 2020, Stanley suffered an ankle injury that would plague him for the next two years. He played in a total of just seven games from 2020-2021, and his health struggles have forced the Ravens to repeatedly adjust on the fly.
They took those adjustments one step further this offseason, negotiating a revised contract that trimmed Stanley's base salary and duration by one season. He can earn some of the money back via incentives, but performance is more important to Stanley than dollars.
For the first time in recent memory, Stanley finally feels healthy enough to deliver, too.
"I would just say I've been feeling more like myself than I have in previous years," Stanley . "For the most part, just to be able to feel like myself physically has made me a lot happier. I guess being in that state when I was younger, it wasn't as savory as a moment or savory as a time, just knowing that, 'OK, your career could have been over after one play,' and not knowing if I was ever going to feel like that again physically or athletically.
"To truly feel like that and be out there and just notice myself getting better every day and feeling more like my old self every day, it definitely makes me happy."
Happiness is key, especially since Stanley knows he's not long for Baltimore. It's a big reason why he accepted the revised deal: If his time with the Ravens is nearing an end, he wants to go out the right way.
The right way would be, of course, with a stellar season reminiscent of past All-Pro campaigns. Stanley won't guarantee such a performance in 2024, but he definitely believes he's positioned better for it now than he has been since suffering the ankle injury in 2020.
"I don't have it all figured out, but I'm to the point where I feel confident in knowing where I need to fix things and making little tweaks versus trying to figure out the big picture," Stanley said. "I feel like it's getting smaller and smaller every day. It's easier to figure out. I haven't felt that way, where I'm consistently knowing that I'm experiencing that growth, since 2020."
Stanley admitted it's been difficult to tune out the noise and criticism that has followed him as he's battled injuries while trying to stay on the field. He knows his reputation no longer guarantees a future in the NFL, but isn't worried about anything beyond 2024. He'll just let his pads do the talking and hope for the best, because truly, his performance is what matters most.
"No, 100 percent, I want to keep playing. There's no doubt in my mind," Stanley said. "For personal reasons, I view it as a (key) year. I want to personally refuse to have a year like last year. But there could be three more years on my deal and I'd still feel the same. It's not because it's the last year on my deal. It's more because as a competitor, I don't like not playing to my capability."
The Ravens are hoping for the best for and from Stanley. He's just about ready to deliver.
