Most of the buzz so far about the Washington Commanders and the looming free agency cycle has been flashy — lots of rumors about signing a wide receiver like Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin or Stefon Diggs.
The Commanders might be better served to remember that the problem in 2024 wasn’t really with throwing the ball.
While the Commanders had an elite wide receiver in NFL All-Pro Terry McLaurin and an elite wide receiver in 3-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz, what they didn’t have was an elite left offensive tackle to protect the blind side of Pro Bowl quarterback Jayden Daniels.
With Daniels headed into a formative second season in 2025 and the Commanders headed into the year as Super Bowl contenders, the smartest move for the franchise would be to sign the crown jewel of this season’s free agent class at the position in Baltimore Ravens veteran Ronnie Stanley.
Getting a player like Stanley could be the difference between making the NFC Championship Game, like they did in 2024, and making it to the Super Bowl.
From Bleacher Report : “Ronnie Stanley of the Baltimore Ravens had struggled with injuries in recent seasons, but the soon-to-be 31-year-old played in all 17 games last year and made the Pro Bowl.”
Stanley Put Injury Problems in Rearview Mirror
Stanley’s NFL career took off like a rocket ship after he was drafted in the first round (No. 6 overall) of the 2016 NFL draft by the Ravens after an All-American career at Notre Dame.
Stanley, 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, missed 4 games as a rookie and only missed 8 games, total over his first 4 seasons before earning Pro Bowl honors and being named NFL All-Pro in 2019, leading to a 5-year, $98.75 million contract extension in 2020.
That’s when injuries almost derailed his career. Over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Stanley only played in 7 games due to extensive ankle injuries and didn’t return until Week 5 of the 2022 season.
Since then, Stanley’s health issues have seemed to only fade into the rearview mirror. He played 11 games in 2022, 13 games in 2023 and played in all 17 games in 2024 as he was selected to his second career Pro Bowl.
Pro Football Focus has Stanley ranked No. 8 among its Top 100 NFL free agents in 2025 — the highest ranked offensive tackle and second highest ranked offensive lineman behind Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith .
From PFF: “It’s hard to argue that any player improved their free-agency stock more this season than the Ravens‘ left tackle. After a devastating ankle injury in 2021 seemed to stall his career, Ronnie Stanley was back to top form in 2024, posting an impressive 79.6 PFF pass-blocking grade through the first 12 weeks.”
Calculating What Stanley Might Cost Commanders
Stanley won’t come cheap, but the Commanders have money to burn this offseason with between $75 million and $79 million in projected salary cap space as of February 15.
Spotrac currently has Stanley’s projected market value at a 2-year, $41.38 million contract, although that number might be a bit low if a bidding war starts.
That’s a far cry from what the Commanders spent at the position in 2024, when their 2 starters at left offensive tackle, rookie Brandon Coleman and veteran Cornelius Lucas , made a combined $4.8 million in salary.
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