OTL: With Lindy Gone to Sin City, Who Snaps the Ball?

A pretty sizable hole was created this past offseason when Tyler Linderbaum signed in Vegas. Was it smart to not extend Linderbaum at a $27M average annual price point? Probably, especially when you factor in some key upcoming contract negotiation (see Zay Flowers.)

Pay Zay!

With that being said, the loss hits all the same, whether it was the logical decision from a financial standpoint or not. The Ravens will have a new face at center this season, and it seems almost certain that the Week 1 starter won’t have been on last year’s roster.

There were thoughts that the Ravens would scoop up a center in rounds 2-4 of the Draft back in April. Eric DeCosta revealed in a series of post-Draft interviews that the Ravens were eyeing two of the top centers, but both fell in no man’s land compared to where the Ravens were picking.

The two were Logan Jones (Iowa) who ended up going No. 57 to the Bears, and Jake Slaughter (Florida) who was the eventual No. 63 pick to the Chargers.

If the Ravens had traded back from No. 45 to take a center, they miss out on Zion Young, whom they had a round 1 grade on. If they traded up, DeCosta also revealed, the leap would have cost them their 3rd-round pick (eventually Ja’Kobi Lane) 4th-round pick (eventually Elijah Sarratt) and 5th-round pick (eventually Chandler Rivers).

Instead, the front office decided to hold onto their trio of mid-round picks, and take the guys listed above.

So where does that leave us? Two interior lineman were signed this offseason, and one previous UDFA still remains on the roster. It seems at this point these three are the main candidates for the starting center spot, but one seems to be the favorite, and one could be on the roster bubble as a whole.

Danny Pinter

If the season started today, my money would be on Danny Pinter to walk out of the tunnel as the starting center.

He’s started just 10 games over his five-year NFL career, but he’s going into his age-30 season and he’s by far the most experienced of these prospective candidates.

At this point, it seems the Ravens have built an above average unit outside of the center position. Ronnie Stanley has been elite since becoming fully healthy again a few years back. Roger Rosengarten took a step back a season ago, but has a chance to bounce-back in a major way. John Simpson is a steady piece in the middle of that, and Vega Ioane brings a talent that could quickly elevate him into one of the best in the league.

Rosengarten Ready to Establish Himself Amongst League’s Best

I also have a feeling Dwayne Ledford will elevate these guys in ways that George Warhop on the previous staff did not.

The Ravens don’t need someone to play the center position at a Pro Bowl level; they need someone Lamar Jackson can trust, and someone who won’t be a liability. I think Pinter’s experience, though limited as a starter, gives him a leg up in the competition.

Jovaughn Gwyn

Gwyn spent his first three years with the Falcons from 2023-25, and worked under Ledford for all of them.

Pinter is a bit more of a true center who plays guard, while Gwyn is the opposite.

He’s still just 27 years old, but he’s only logged 19 appearances in three NFL seasons, with 17 of them coming a season ago, and he’s still yet to start a game in the league.

While Gwyn will certainly continue to be evaluated throughout training camp, the lack of experience you’d imagine would make him the initial runner-up for the starting spot. The ability to play all three positions on the interior will almost certainly get him on the initial 53-man roster, however, but whether he’ll seize a starting job is yet to be seen.

Corey Bullock

Bullock is truly a wild-card, and could perhaps find himself on the roster bubble by the end of camp.

The 24-year-old had surgery this offseason, explaining his minicamp absence, but the former Terrapin who had a strong preseason showing in 2025 will have to fight for his spot during training camp once the pads start popping.

Bullock was the backup center a season ago, and it seems counterintuitive that after Linderbaum left he may now find himself further down the depth chart, but he could just shake out to be the third option at center.

Bullock can also play both guard and center, but behind Simpson and Ioane the Ravens have plenty of other guard options that makes the versatility less useful.

Andrew Vorhees is still around, and even though he struggled, he’d be a nice reserve to have on the bench. Emery Jones Jr. seems to have the tools to become a starter, but he’s simply blocked. Evan Beerntsen was a 7th-round pick and the Ravens will certainly want to evaluate him as well.

Interior offensive line play has pretty well defined the success of the team over the past few years.

In 2020 a bad snap from Patrick Mekari knocked Lamar Jackson out of the game, and was the proverbial nail in the coffin in a 17-3 playoff loss in Buffalo. Earlier in the season, Matt Skura struggled with snaps as well.

In 2023, the Ravens nearly reached a Super Bowl, with John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler anchoring the interior o-line.

In 2025, Daniel Faalele became a national meme, and Andrew Vorhees was almost just as bad. They missed the playoffs.

If the Ravens can find the center that makes the unit click, it could be the difference in a long playoff run and another early exit.

The post OTL: With Lindy Gone to Sin City, Who Snaps the Ball? appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/06/30/out-to-lunch/center-competition/