It does not sound like the Ravens and left tackle Ronnie Stanley have made much progress in contract talks, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com observes (Twitter link). Stanley is currently playing under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, and the last we heard, he is looking to top the massive $22MM/year deal that Laremy Tunsil signed with the Texans.

The Tunsil pact was viewed as an unnecessary overpay by Bill O’Brien, a head coach who appears miscast as a GM, but the market is the market, so it makes sense that Stanley — who earned a First Team All-Pro bid last season — is shooting for the stars. However, Baltimore knows it will soon have to pony up major cash for a new deal for quarterback Lamar Jackson, and it just committed a ton of money to CB Marlon Humphrey.

Still, Stanley has a lot of leverage. The Ravens’ O-line does not look as sharp as it did last year, as the team had to replace a future Hall-of-Fame right guard in Marshal Yanda with rookie Tyre Phillips, and right tackle Orlando Brown Jr. has regressed a bit. Losing one of the best LTs in football is not something Baltimore will allow to happen, especially with Jackson under center.

Stanley has dealt with injuries throughout his first four years in the league, though he has never played fewer than 12 games in a season. He will miss today’s contest against Washington with a shoulder ailment, but the team hopes he will return in Week 5. As of now, durability will not be a huge factor in negotiations.

Fowler says that player and team have explored multiple scenarios, including a short-term contract that would keep Stanley under club control for a couple more seasons while allowing him to be eligible for free agency again before he turns 30. Apparently, though, those talks have not been especially productive, and the franchise tag is looking more and more likely.

This will not come as much of a surprise given Ravens GM Eric DeCosta‘s penchant for being proactive in locking up key contributors, but Baltimore is reportedly pushing to extend left tackle Ronnie Stanley, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Stanley is eligible for free agency next year, but the Ravens don’t want him to sniff the open market.

Baltimore selected Stanley with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 draft, and he has lived up to his draft status. He has started every game in which he has appeared since entering the league, and he has steadily improved in each of his first four years in the pros. His 2019 effort was his best yet, and he was a major factor in MVP Lamar Jackson‘s remarkable season.

Indeed, Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics indicate that Stanley might just be the past pass-blocking tackle in football, and while Jackson’s elusiveness certainly helped matters, Stanley did not yield a sack all season. He was rewarded with his first Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro bids for his efforts.

And he is about to cash in. He is due a $12.87MM salary under the fifth-year option of his rookie pact, but the Ravens obviously want to keep him around for the long haul. The Notre Dame product is likely to top the five-year, $80MM ($50MM guaranteed) contract that Taylor Lewan signed with the Titans in July 2018, which currently paces the LT market in terms of AAV and total value.

Even an extension of that size, though, may allow the Ravens to lower Stanley’s 2020 cap hit, which would be helpful to a club that has more cap space than it has had in years but which has several areas of concern, including pass rusher. La Canfora notes in the same piece linked above that most of the top pass rushers who are eligible for free agency are likely going to be tagged or extended before they hit the market, so Baltimore may need to put the franchise tag on LB Matt Judon, which comes at a price of over $16MM.