Baltimore Ravens: Ronnie Stanley’s likely absence leaves line ailing

The Baltimore Ravens have declared left tackle Ronnie Stanley doubtful to play in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers.

Baltimore Ravens starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley suffered a concussion late in the game against the Tennessee Titans. Now, heading into their Week 11 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, the second-year pro is listed as doubtful to play.

This would be a big loss for the Ravens if Stanley doesn’t play on Sunday. His absence would mean left guard James Hurst would move to tackle and either Jermaine Eluemunor or Luke Bowanko will play at the then-vacant guard spot.

Hurst has a bad history at the tackle position for the Ravens. He has played much better since moving to guard this year and contributes nicely on run blocking from the inside. He is a much better fit at guard than tackle, and the possibility of him having to play a full game at the most important position on the line should worry Ravens fans. Hopefully Stanley is able to go on game day, but I’m not expecting it.

Eluemunor played poorly when filling in for an injured Matt Skura for a couple of weeks at right guard. He is a fifth-round rookie who everyone knew would need time to develop, though, so that’s to be expected. Unfortunate injuries along the line have forced him to see more playing time than the Ravens would have liked, however. Eluemunor shows potential (especially as a mauling run blocker), but he is too raw to see substantial playing time for now.

We haven’t seen Bowanko play much this year after the Ravens traded a 2019 seventh-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for him just before the season began. I’m not sure if he would be an upgrade over Eluemunor at this point. I’m fairly certain the Ravens will go with Jermaine, as he has seen much more playing time with this offensive line than Bowanko.

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Without Stanley in the lineup, the pass protection will be a liability to the offense. What most people don’t realize, though, is how important he is to the run game. Tight end Nick Boyle is questionable to play as well. If the Ravens go into the game with neither of them, then the run blocking will suffer tremendously.