The Baltimore Ravens know they could lose All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley in 2025 NFL free agency, but the team already has a “favorite” to replace the accomplished veteran, in the form of second-year pro Roger Rosengarten.
Trusting 2024 NFL draft second-round pick Rosengarten would be a risk after he spent his rookie season at right tackle. Yet, The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer noted, “If the Ravens don’t re-sign left tackle Ronnie Stanley, their top pending free agent, Rosengarten would be the favorite to take over as quarterback Lamar Jackson’s blind-side protector.”
Putting Rosengarten on Jackson’s blindside would thrust an inexperienced player into arguably the second-most important position in football. Rosengarten’s experience deficiency dates back to when he “came to Washington as a left tackle, but he played just three snaps there over his college career, according to PFF. (As the Huskies’ starting right tackle in 2022 and 2023, he protected the blind side of left-handed quarterback Michael Penix Jr.) Rosengarten’s return to the left side, at least in the early going, could be bumpy,” per Shaffer.
While Rosengarten is a versatile athlete who took to the Ravens’ blocking schemes well in 2024, the team has other viable alternatives for replacing Stanley. Those alternatives pose less risk and may be needed, since the 30-year-old carries a significant salary cap hit for one of the more cash-strapped teams in the league.
Ravens Need Ronnie Stanley Alternatives Amid Cap Concerns
The NFL raised the cap to a “range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million, way up from last year’s $255.4 million,” according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. Yet, the boost is unlikely to help the Ravens much on this year’s veteran market.
General manager Eric DeCosta is still projected by Spotrac.com to have just $8,918,872 at his disposal. That’s far from the ideal amount when a key free agent like Stanley has a market value of $20.7 million annually. He’s also been touted as a fit for various teams, including the cap-rich Washington Commanders.
Fortunately, there are potential candidates to replace No. 79 in this year’s draft. Prospects like an Ohio State standout whose recent injury history may prompt a slide in Round 1. If the Ravens are prepared to take a similar risk, the raw potential of a massive natural left tackle from Minnesota could be worth using the 27th-overall pick.
Both players fit how the Ravens play up front, but there are drawbacks to using prime draft capital to replace Stanley. Those drawbacks concern the Ravens having other pressing needs, including getting younger at edge-rusher, adding talent at cornerback and bolstering the wide receiver corps.
There’s also the prevailing idea this year’s rookie class is stronger at other positions than left tackle. Namely, along the interior of the defensive line, an area perhaps too rich to ignore for a franchise that’s long trusted a “best player available” strategy in the draft.
If DeCosta continues the trend, Rosengarten may well find himself thrust into a largely unfamiliar but pivotal position.
Roger Rosengarten’s Potential Gives Ravens Options
Rosengarten actually played nine snaps at left tackle last season, per Pro Football Focus, so his versatility gives the Ravens options. So does the potential the former Washington Huskies standout displayed during 14 starts.
He had some issues, allowing four sacks and 29 pressures, while being flagged for five penalties. To his credit, Rosengarten compensated for his negative plays with at least as many impressive reps.
Like when the 62nd player taken in last year’s draft dominated Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt in the AFC Wild-Card Playoffs. Watt, the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, “didn’t record a single stat” during a 28-14 Ravens win, per The Sporting News.
Rosengarten’s ability to handle and nullify one of the game’s premier edge-rushers strengthens the case for giving him extended work as a blindside blocker. He’d be a project at the position, but the Ravens had success trusting untested players in the trenches last season, including Rosengarten and 2022 fourth-rounder Daniel Faalele.
They could do the same by putting Andrew Vorhees, a former seventh-round pick, into the lineup, but Rosengarten is already more polished and less of a risk as an in-house Stanley replacement.
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