Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley opened up about the ankle injuries that nearly derailed his career, and an accident that nearly ended his life, in an essay published Monday on The Players’ Tribune.

Stanley said that in addition to dislocating his left ankle in a 2020 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he broke his leg, a previously undisclosed injury. Stanley said he “basically tore up everything in my ankle besides my deltoid ligament,” and that he couldn’t bend his knee for three months.

Stanley was cleared to return to training camp in 2021, but he said he “still wasn’t feeling right.” He kept pushing through the pain because of what he called an obligation to the team. He was also led to believe that his discomfort wouldn’t hinder his rehabilitation or “damage my body more seriously.”

But when Stanley took the field for the Ravens’ season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, he said he “knew something was severely wrong.” He struggled mightily, allowing nine quarterback pressures on 40 pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. His agony was overwhelming.

“I was in so much pain that I was crying for a good portion of the game,” he said. “Coming off the field after drives, I had tears streaming down my face out of anger, frustration, despair, and just … pain. I felt like I was letting down my team. I played like ass, and I knew it, and it hurt all the more because I just couldn’t do what I knew I should have been doing out there on the field. Plus, we lost."

An MRI after the game revealed that Stanley might’ve torn the deltoid ligament in his surgically repaired ankle. But because doctors weren’t certain that the ligament, which helps stabilize the ankle, was completely torn, Stanley went back to rehab. It wasn’t until several weeks later, when Stanley underwent a midseason surgery, that he learned his deltoid ligament was “completely torn,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have been able to play with that injury no matter what I tried to do,” he said. “There was no amount of toughness that was going to change that and allow me to play effectively, no matter how tough I was. It had nothing to do with not being able to ‘fight through the pain.’”

That wasn’t Stanley’s first catastrophic injury. He recalled how, as a 14-year-old, he spent a week in an intensive-care unit after a utility vehicle he was in flipped and landed on the right side of his body.

“I was pretty broken,” he said. “I had shattered one side of my body, basically. The doctors told me the next day that if the cart had landed another few inches to the left it would’ve crushed my head.”

Stanley said that after his injuries in 2020 and 2021, “I felt like I had the whole world standing on my chest.” Two rescue dogs became a source of comfort during his rehab, leading him to establish the Ronnie Stanley Foundation, which aims to improve the quality of life for rescue dogs and match them with people who’ve endured hardships and trauma.

Stanley returned to action in 2022 and has played 30 of the Ravens’ 34 games over the past two seasons. He expressed his gratitude to his family; the fans, coaches and teammates, notably quarterback Lamar Jackson, who understood his struggle and showed compassion; and his rescue dogs for their help in his recovery.

“If you’re reading this, and you’re feeling really empty, just know that there’s a lot of people out there who know and understand what you’re going through and how you’re feeling,” Stanley said. “And like I said, we all have a purpose in life, individually and collectively.

“I don’t have any magic words for you to make you feel better. But if you really want to find purpose, I truly believe that a good first step is to stop being afraid to look stupid, or being afraid to fail. In whatever you do in life, do it with confidence and belief in yourself that you can be great. You can even be the best! Why not you?”