Examining Ravens’ OL Roster Outlook
With today’s signing of center Ethan Pocic, the Ravens’ offensive line is starting to fall into place. With Pocic favored to secure the team’s starting center job, the rest of the starting five and backup spots can be projected as training camp nears.
Assuming Pocic can beat out Danny Pinter, Corey Bullock, and Jovaughn Gwyn to start in the middle, he’ll join returning starting tackles Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten on the first-team offense. The guard spots are expected to go to free agent addition John Simpson, who returns to Baltimore after two seasons in New York, and rookie first-round pick Olaivavega Ioane. According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, the team’s third- and fifth-round picks from 2025, Emery Jones Jr. and Carson Vinson, are Baltimore’s top backup tackle options.
Assuming they’re locked into roster spots alongside the starting group, Zrebiec predicts that only two or three spots would be left on the eventual 53-man roster. Pinter, Bullock, Gwyn, and undrafted rookie Nick Dawkins represent depth options for a necessary backup center spot; last year’s starter at left guard Andrew Vorhees, 2025 UDFA Jared Penning, and seventh-round rookie Evan Beerntsen will compete as options at guard; and undrafted rookie Diego Pounds adds another tackle option.
Vorhees and Pinter seem like obvious keeps for the interior line, given their starting experience. Vorhees graded out last year as the 59th-best guard in the league (out of 79 players graded at the position), per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and Pinter only has 10 starts in six years, but both likely would have been in line for starting jobs had Simpson and Pocic not arrived in free agency. The staff in Baltimore has shown a lot of faith in Bullock’s potential since signing the undrafted lineman last year, so if they plan on holding 10, he could be the last guy.
That would leave Pounds, Penning, Beerntsen, Gwyn, and Dawkins on the outside looking in. It wouldn’t be too surprising for Pounds and Dawkins to fall short as undrafted rookies, and Penning spent his rookie year on the practice squad and could find his way back in Year 2. Gwyn was a low-cost swing at interior OL depth, so his loss wouldn’t be too hard to swallow. If the team waives Beerntsen, it would be the second year in a row that Baltimore drafted a seventh-round lineman who failed to make the initial 53.
Training camp is a week away, and there’s still plenty of time for some of those last few players to make something happen. But after today’s key signing, the picture of the Ravens’ offensive line is starting to come into focus.
Danny Pinter Remains Ravens’ Top Internal Option At Center
Tyler Linderbaum left a $27MM per year hole on the Ravens’ offensive depth chart when he departed for Las Vegas in free agency. The team signed a few underwhelming replacement options soon after Linderbaum’s departure, and when the draft came and went without the selection of a rookie center, many presumed an additional outside option was on its way to Baltimore.
As the Ravens progressed through spring activities, former Colts backup Danny Pinter was the center receiving first-year snaps with the most consistency in Baltimore. Over five healthy years in Indianapolis, Pinter appeared in 77 games, serving mostly on special teams but earning 10 starts as an injury replacement — seven at center and three at right guard. That experience exceeds that of both of the team’s other two center options, Jovaughn Gwyn and Corey Bullock.
Gwyn is a former seventh-round guard out of South Carolina that was drafted by the Falcons in 2023. He only appeared in two games over his first two years in the league and didn’t appear on offense until this past season, seeing at least one snap at guard in five games. He didn’t play center in college, but he’s been identified as a candidate for the job in Baltimore. Bullock made the Ravens’ initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie out of Maryland last year. He appeared in 16 games for the team last year, almost exclusively on special teams. There was an expectation that he might step into a bigger role in Year 2, but he hasn’t been able to establish a bigger role yet.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic recently reported that, while he still holds his belief that an external addition will occur at some point in the offseason, if it doesn’t, Pinter will likely be given the starting job. If the Ravens do go the trade route to replace Linderbaum, Zrebiec projects that Bears center Garrett Bradbury could be an ideal target. A starter for six years in Minnesota and last year in New England, Bradbury played under new Ravens offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford when the two were at NC State together. Chicago drafted Iowa center Logan Jones in the second round of the draft this year, perhaps making Bradbury expendable.
Early Lead For Danny Pinter In Ravens’ C Battle?
As Baltimore prepared to take on the contracts of both Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson before ultimately reneging on Crosby’s trade agreement, the Ravens were forced to let several starters walk in free agency.
The biggest surprise came when Tyler Linderbaum — the team’s starting center who made the Pro Bowl three times over his four-year rookie deal — signed a record contract sending him to Las Vegas. Linderbaum’s successor has not officially been named, but free agent addition Danny Pinter appears to getting the first-team reps early on, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic..
There’s a decent chance that the Ravens wouldn’t have been able to retain Linderbaum even if the Crosby situation hadn’t been a distraction. Linderbaum’s new deal raised the ceiling for center contracts by 50 percent, topping Creed Humphrey‘s $18MM annual average by $9MM. Absent their starting center of the past four seasons, Baltimore has been tasked with finding a replacement. In the days after Linderbaum’s departure, the team brought in Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn on free agent deals.
Pinter has been a backup interior offensive lineman in Indianapolis since 2020, when the Colts drafted him in the fifth round out of Ball State. Over five seasons with the team — he missed the entire 2023 season on injured reserve — he appeared in 77 games, serving mostly on special teams. He did get some action as an injury replacement, making 10 starts over that period — seven at center and three at right guard. In the opportunities provided to him, Pinter has generally shown strong run blocking abilities but struggles in pass pro.
Gwyn is a former seventh-round guard out of South Carolina that was drafted by the Falcons in 2023. He only appeared in two games over his first two years in the league and didn’t appear on offense until this past season, seeing at least one snap at guard in five games. He didn’t play center in college, but he’s been identified as a candidate for the job in Baltimore.
There was an expectation the Ravens would address the position in the 2026 NFL Draft as a number of prospects at the position were expected to go on Day 2. Ultimately, even when several of those top prospects at the position fell to Day 3, Baltimore never seemed to find enough value to draft one when its picks came around. There’s been speculation that the team could still pursue a veteran free agent at the position with options like Ethan Pocic, Sam Mustipher, and Andre James available, but nothing has moved on that front lately. The Ravens also roster Corey Bullock, who made their roster as an undrafted rookie last year and appears to be in consideration, as well.
Per Zrebiec, new head coach Jesse Minter claims that “Pinter has done a great job” but that they still “might rotate first-team center reps in Organized Team Activities. Unless the team does, in fact, make an outside addition soon, it appears Pinter has an inside track to his first full-time starting job in Year 7 of his career, though he’ll be challenged by the seventh-rounder, Gwyn, and the undrafted Bullock.
Ravens Release QB Cooper Rush, Sign OL Jovaughn Gwyn
The Ravens signed Cooper Rush to a two-year deal last year to serve as Lamer Jackson’s backup, but that experiment ended during his second start after the MVP’s early-season knee injury.
Baltimore went back to Tyler Huntley – who won both of his starts in 2025 – and Rush rode the bench for the rest of the season. The Ravens were expected to part ways with the former Cowboys in the offseason, and re-signing Huntley to a two-year deal over the weekend supported that projection.
Indeed, the Ravens have released Rush, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The move comes without a post-June 1 designation, so it will be processed right away, clearing $453k and leaving $2.2MM in dead money. The eight-year veteran will now hit the open market in search of a new backup opportunity, though his struggles in Baltimore will likely force him to compete for a job during training camp.
The Ravens’ other Thursday move is the signing of Jovaughn Gwyn (also via Pelissero), who is coming to Baltimore to reunite with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford. Gwyn, 26, was a seventh-round pick out of South Carolina in 2023. He has only played 11 regular-season offensive snaps – all in 2025 – with nine at right guard plus one as an inline tight end and another as a fullback, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
In the preseason, though, Gwyn has played center as well, a key still for a Ravens offensive line that just lost Tyler Linderbaum in free agency. Gwyn does not project as a starting-caliber replacement, though he is clearly valued by Ledford. But with the potential for 2025 backup center Corey Bullock to step into a bigger role this year, Baltimore needed to add more depth at the position and now has Gwyn to back up multiple spots along their line.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/6/25
With the regular season having come to an end, many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts. This allows organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR Andre Baccellia, CB Jaden Davis, CB Darren Hall, OL Matthew Jones, WR Tejhaun Palmer, TE Bernhard Seikovits, DL Ben Stille
Atlanta Falcons
- DT Junior Aho, WR Phillip Dorsett, RB Elijah Dotson, WR Dylan Drummond, G Joey Fisher, G Jovaughn Gwyn, DB Lamar Jackson, QB Emory Jones, DE Khalid Kareem, WR Jesse Matthews, DB Benny Sapp III, OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
Carolina Panthers
- RB Emani Bailey, G Ja’Tyre Carter, TE Dominique Dafney, LB Kenny Dyson, LB Thomas Incoom, WR T.J. Luther, TE Jordan Matthews, WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, G Brandon Walton
Chicago Bears
- OL Theo Benedet, OL Chris Glaser, WR John Jackson, LB Carl Jones Jr., DL Jamree Kromah, QB Austin Reed, OL Ricky Stromberg, WR Samori Toure, TE Joel Wilson
Cleveland Browns
- G Javion Cohen, S Trey Dean, DE Marcus Haynes, OT Roy Mbaeteka, TE Tre’ McKitty, OT Julian Pearl, DE Elerson Smith, K Andre Szmyt, OT Lorenzo Thompson
Dallas Cowboys
- G Jack Anderson, DB Luq Barcoo, DT Denzel Daxon, WR Kelvin Harmon, LB Brock Mogensen, WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper, DB Troy Pride Jr., LB Luiji Vilain, WR Seth Williams
Indianapolis Colts
- RB Salvon Ahmed, LB Austin Ajiake, LB Liam Anderson, QB Jason Bean, S Marcel Dabo, CB Alex Johnson, G Atonio Mafi, TE Sean McKeon, WR D.J. Montgomery, DE Durell Nchami, TE Albert Okwuegbunam, DT Pheldarius Payne, G Josh Sills, WR Laquon Treadwell
Las Vegas Raiders
- DE David Agoha, OT Gottlieb Ayedze, CB M.J. Devonshire, CB Keenan Isaac, WR Shedrick Jackson, WR Tyreik McAllister, DE Ovie Oghoufo, C Will Putnam, LB Brandon Smith, RB Isaiah Spiller, OT Dalton Wagner, WR Kristian Wilkerson
New York Giants
- K Jude McAtamney, DL Ross Blacklock, C Bryan Hudson, C Jimmy Morrissey, DL Casey Rogers
New York Jets
- OL Zack Bailey, RB Zach Evans, T Obinna Eze, TE Zack Kuntz, G Kohl Levao, QB Adrian Martinez, LB Jackson Sirmon, WR Brandon Smith, DB Tre Swilling, WR Easop Winston
San Francisco 49ers
- DL Jonathan Garvin, OL Sebastian Gutierrez, DL Tarron Jackson, OL Zack Johnson, CB Chase Lucas, S Jaylen Mahoney, QB Tanner Mordecai, OL Drake Nugent, WR Terique Owens, TE Mason Pline, WR Trent Taylor
Seattle Seahawks
- DT Quinton Bohanna, CB Ryan Cooper, LB Michael Dowell, CB Tyler Hall, C Mike Novitsky, DE Kenneth Odumegwu, S Ty Okada, WR Cornell Powell, LB Jamie Sheriff, LB Tyreke Smith, CB Damarion Williams
Tennessee Titans
- DT McTelvin Agim, DT Abdullah Anderson, LB Curtis Bolton, OL Chandler Brewer, DT Isaiah Iton, CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, OLB Kyron Johnson, WR Stanley Morgan, TE Thomas Odukoya, S Gervarrius Owens, T Isaiah Prince, RB Jabari Small
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/30/24
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: G Jovaughn Gwyn
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Michael Barrett, G Marquis Hayes
- Released: WR Malik Knowles
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/28/24
Thanksgiving Day minor moves from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: G Jovaughn Gwyn
Baltimore Ravens
- Designated to return from IR: CB T.J. Tampa
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: G Andrew Stueber
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: CB Myles Bryant
- Placed on IR: TE Teagan Quitoriano
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: CB Kyu Blu Kelly, RB Sincere McCormick
Miami Dolphins
- Elevated: LS Zach Triner
Quitoriano’s injury struggles continue. The depth tight end who often appears in running plays and multi-tight end sets has yet to prove he can stay on the field for much more than half a season. After appearing in 16 games (11 starts) over his first two years in the NFL, Quitoriano was only able to appear in seven games (four starts) before hitting injured reserve this year. Signed off the Bears’ practice squad to make up for the season-ending loss of Brevin Jordan, Quitoriano’s loss leaves Dalton Schultz and Cade Stover as the only healthy tight ends on the active roster as Quitoriano joins Jordan and Dalton Keene on IR. Houston has veteran Irv Smith on the practice squad, as well.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/12/23
Rookie minicamps started today and more rookies put the names on the dotted line of their four-year contracts. Here are the mid- to late-round picks who signed today:
Arizona Cardinals
- DT Dante Stills (sixth round, West Virginia)
Atlanta Falcons
- CB Clark Phillips III (fourth round, Utah)
- G Jovaughn Gwyn (seventh round, South Carolina)
Cleveland Browns
- DE Isaiah McGuire (fourth round, Missouri)
- QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (fifth round, UCLA)
- CB Cameron Mitchell (fifth round, Northwestern)
- C Luke Wypler (sixth round, Ohio State)
Denver Broncos
- CB Riley Moss (third round, Iowa)
- S JL Skinner (sixth round, Boise State)
Houston Texans
- LB Henry To’oTo’o (fifth round, Alabama)
- S Brandon Hill (seventh round, Pittsburgh)
Kansas City Chiefs
- S Chamarri Conner (fourth round, Virginia Tech)
Los Angeles Chargers
- LB Daiyan Henley (third round, Washington State)
- WR Derius Davis (fourth round, TCU)
- T Jordan McFadden (fifth round, Clemson)
- DT Scott Matlock (sixth round, Boise State)
- QB Max Duggan (seventh round, TCU)
Minnesota Vikings
- CB Mekhi Blackmon (third round, USC)
- QB Jaren Hall (fifth round, BYU)
New England Patriots
- G Sidy Sow (fourth round, Eastern Michigan)
- CB Ameer Speed (sixth round, Michigan State)
- CB Isaiah Bolden (seventh round, Jackson State)
New Orleans Saints
- RB Kendre Miller (third round, TCU)
- T Nick Saldiveri (fourth round, Old Dominion)
- S Jordan Howden (fifth round, Minnesota)
- WR A.T. Perry (sixth round, Wake Forest)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- TE Darnell Washington (third round, Georgia)
- LB Nick Herbig (fourth round, Wisconsin)
- G Spencer Anderson (seventh round, Maryland)
Washington Commanders
- DE K.J. Henry (fifth round, Clemson)
- RB Christopher Rodriguez (sixth round, Kentucky)