The Baltimore Ravens, like every other team in the NFL, are beginning to wrap up training camp, but that doesn’t mean the next few days will be quiet. The Ravens still have to play their preseason finale against the Washington Commanders before focusing on their roster, which needs to be trimmed down to 53 players.
Baltimore still has several areas of its roster that need to be sorted out, with the most pressing spot being the center position. For much of training camp, it seemed that free agent signing Danny Pinter was running away with the starting center job, but a torn patellar tendon changed everything. Now, the Ravens are scrambling to find a replacement, but in the meantime, the team confirmed that Pinter will be out for the year with its latest roster move.
Ravens Place Danny Pinter on Injured Reserve
Baltimore brought a lot of new players to town this offseason, but one guy it lost was star center Tyler Linderbaum, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. The Ravens didn’t ever find a true replacement for him over the offseason, as new head coach Jesse Minter opted to make the starting job a battle between several players.
Pinter, who signed with the team in free agency on a one-year, $2.75 million contract, quickly emerged as the favorite to win this job. A fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Pinter spent the first six years of his career with the Indianapolis Colts, primarily working as a reserve interior lineman. Throughout training camp, though, Pinter was frequently working with the team’s first-unit offense as their center.
Last week, though, Pinter went down with his aforementioned injury, which was expected to hold him out for most, if not all, of the 2026 campaign. Depending on how deep into the year Baltimore ends up playing, there was a shot that Pinter could return, but the team shut down that possibility by placing him on injured reserve Wednesday morning, which will end his season.
“The Ravens have now placed C Danny Pinter on IR, ending his season,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared in a post on X.
Ravens Must Figure Out Who Danny Pinter’s Replacement Will Be
GettyBaltimore Ravens center Danny Pinter.
Holding Pinter out for the year is probably the safest move for him as he works on getting himself back to full health, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Ravens are in a tough spot now. Ethan Pocic is the most logical replacement for Pinter, but he is still working his way back from a torn Achilles tendon. Jovaughn Gwyn and Corey Bullock appear to be the other candidates to start, but neither has much experience playing at the center position.
Baltimore is strong enough across the rest of its offensive line that it should be able to help compensate for the center position if it proves to be a weakness. Right now, Pocic appears to be in line to be the starting center now that Pinter is out for the year, but the winner of this job will likely be determined during the team’s preseason finale against Washington.
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