We need to have a real discussion about what Stanley is worth because its not 17M, hes closer to league average at the position than elite
As we’ve learned, it doesn’t matter. It’s when, not who you’re signing.
And of all the players we have coming up on deals, Judon, pierce, peanut, Stanley, I’d pay Stanley before any of them. You keep a cornerstone LT and that’s what he is. Stanley has played through injuries and still been a very quality LT. You have Trent Williams, Tyron Smith, terron armstead, Taylor lewan, and off the top of my head I can not think of any LT outside of those names I’d take over Stanley, MAYBE Villanueva but I think he’s pretty overrated and the Steelers loaded offense has made his job easier. Stanley is one of the most refined LTs in the league and is a supreme athlete, he gets out into space and blocks the second level and well downfield as well as anyone, his positional and zone blocking is some of the best you’ll find, he’s great on pulls, elite athleticism with a great pass set, low hips to anchor, and tree branch arms forcing a hell of an arc for rushers to get around.
Frankly, if Stanley played at 100% his whole career, you’d be hard pressed to sign a better LT, and even with him playing at 80% he’s been pretty damn excellent. Letting him walk, and idc WHAT the price tag is, would be a gigantic mistake for a team where he’s one of 2 quality OL and a third who may or may not be passable on a given week. This team is doing something special and may see big things over the next 4 or 5 years, you need a LT for that to play out. TL;DR if we let Stanley walk we’ve fucked over the most exciting core this franchise has ever assembled before it gets a chance to reach its potential