The Baltimore Ravens have been struck with as much bad injury luck around the start of a season than just about any team in recent NFL history, and All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley is next in line to miss extended time.
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported Thursday that Stanley will miss Week 2’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs — and could be out much longer than that:
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Between running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards going down with season-ending injuries, and the same happening to star cornerback Marcus Peters, it didn’t seem like the news could get much worse for Baltimore. Unfortunately, it now has with Stanley possibly out for a long period of time.
Even if Stanley only misses Week 2’s highly anticipated duel with Kansas City, he’s unlikely to be at 100% going forward should he try to gut it out. MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson will certainly have his work cut out to compete with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to help the Ravens avoid a 0-2 start.
Coming off a gut-punch overtime road loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, Sunday night’s prime-time affair on shorter rest is going to be even more brutal for the Ravens with Stanley out of action.
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Replacing players in the backfield is generally not as much of an issue in the NFL.
Even though playmakers like Dobbins and Edwards are exceptional players, we saw former undrafted free agent Ty’Son Williams rip off 65 yards on nine carries for the Ravens this past Monday. Having a one-of-a-kind runner like Jackson at QB opens up all kinds of lanes for tailbacks.
In the case of Peters, yes, his loss is brutal, but at least Baltimore has another stud at corner in Marlon Humphrey and a rather deep defensive backfield overall, which is one of many reasons why the Ravens rank among the NFL’s best defenses year in and year out.
The loss of Stanley is a different story. Las Vegas’ pass rush has been lacking in recent years, but the Raiders were all over Jackson in Week 1, forcing a fumble on an overtime sack to set up the winning score. It was obvious Stanley wasn’t in his elite form, and unfortunately, the ankle injury that cut short his 2020 campaign seems to be lingering.
Adding insult to injury, Baltimore gave Stanley a massive contract last year, and traded Orlando Brown Jr. to the Chiefs, because Brown didn’t want to play right tackle anymore. Now, it’s up to Alejandro Villanueva to fill Stanley’s massive shoes and slide over to left tackle from the right side.
Very little is happening for the Ravens that’d be considered positive at this point. As long as John Harbaugh and his coaching staff are in place and Jackson can make some magic happen, though, you can never count out this top-notch franchise completely.