CAMP NOTES: Flores Gives Lamar Fits, Again!

Aggregated from beat reporting out of TCO Performance Center

If you were hoping Day 2 in Eagan would look better than Day 1, well, pour yourself something stronger. The cleat of reality struck in Minnesota.

For the second straight day, Brian Flores’ defense treated the Ravens’ offense like an uninvited guest. The Vikings’ defensive units shut down the deep ball from the Ravens across two days of practice, limiting Declan Doyle’s offense to mostly short gains mixed with sacks, run stuffs, TFLs and pass breakups. And when it mattered most? Minnesota won the final two-minute drills against both the first and second units, with the Ravens’ offense unable to reach midfield starting from its own 25. That’s not a typo. That’s a Wednesday-Thursday sweep in situational football.

Lamar Jackson was pressured enough that he was off on some of his throws, which made life miserable for the first-team offense in full team drills. The Vikings’ own staff wasn’t shy about it either — Flores strolled off the practice field Thursday with swagger and a wide smile after his group smothered Jackson and the Ravens on both days, and especially Thursday. The takeaway parade included a pick by Jackson’s cousin, cornerback James Pierre, who kept things professional afterward and praised Lamar’s talent. You never go against the family!.

The name you’ll hear on Twin Cities talk radio for months is Dallas Turner. The third-year edge rusher gave two-time Pro Bowler Ronnie Stanley fits with his explosion and bend around the edge, adding at least two more would-be sacks Thursday after a couple on Wednesday. Linebacker Eric Wilson also had a busy day, including multiple sacks of Jackson on blitzes up the middle during red-zone work. That interior pressure is the part that should bother you — because it points directly at the story of the week.

Lamar Jackson to Jakobi Lane for 6 in Ravens Vikings joint practice pic.twitter.com/aD0gtHo8Rl

— The Football Suite (@ThFootballSuite) August 20, 2026

The Pinter Injury: The News Is as Bad as It Looked

The cart is never a good sign, and this one delivered exactly the gut punch it threatened. Per NFL Network, Danny Pinter suffered a torn patellar tendon in Wednesday’s joint practice, as reported by insiders Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport, and his 2026 season is finished. A source confirmed to The Baltimore Sun that Pinter will miss the entire 2026 season.

The Banner’s Jonas Shaffer filled in the grim details: Pinter was hurt during an 11-on-11 period, was carted off, and was later seen in a full-leg brace on his right leg. Jesse Minter declined to offer a recovery timetable. Minter himself stayed coy after Thursday’s session — “probably will miss an extended amount of time,” he said, noting Pinter was still gathering opinions.

Pinter had taken nearly all of the first-team reps to this point in training camp and was in line to open the season as the starting center. The 30-year-old signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal in late March as Baltimore’s first move to replace Tyler Linderbaum, who left in free agency.

Who’s The Next Man Up?

Here’s the question everybody wants answered, and the reporting points in one direction: Jovaughn Gwyn.

Gwyn didn’t wait for an invitation. On the very next play after Pinter went down Wednesday, Gwyn stepped in at center, opened a huge hole up the middle and deposited Vikings rookie defensive tackle Domonique Orange on the turf, springing Derrick Henry for what would have been a big gain. And critically, the veteran alternative hasn’t been running with the starters at all — per Shaffer, Ethan Pocic has been eased back from his December Achilles tear and has lined up almost exclusively with the Ravens’ reserves. Connect the dots and Gwyn is your first-team center in Pinter’s absence, at least for now.

Minter’s Thursday comments back that up. “I think Jo’s done a really nice job,” he said, adding that reviewing the Wednesday tape showed Gwyn played really well — and he praised both Gwyn and Pocic for keeping their poise on protection calls against Flores’ blitz packages. The kid’s résumé is thin — just 11 career offensive snaps — but there’s a cheat code here: Gwyn spent three seasons in Atlanta under Dwayne Ledford, now the Ravens’ offensive line coach, and Minter called him “really powerful and athletic” while noting he already knows the system.

That said, don’t sleep on Pocic. Minter said the staff had targeted this second preseason week for Pocic to ramp up into more action anyway, and the man has real starting mileage in this league. Bottom line from the head coach: “It’s probably still a competition,” Minter said, indicating the Ravens would not look to acquire another potential starting center. No help from the outside folks, if we take Jesse at face value.  This competition gets settled in-house.

Silver Linings from Thursday

It wasn’t all doom. The Ravens’ defense held up its end of the bargain again. Trey Hendrickson notched two sacks on the day, Calais Campbell flashed his mobility on the very first 11-on-11 snap, and Travis Jones shed a block to stuff a run. The young DBs keep making noise too — nickel Keyon Martin skied to break up an end-zone pass against a receiver six inches taller, Malaki Starks broke up a pass in the back of the end zone during 7s, and rookie Chandler Rivers won a rep against Justin Jefferson. Winning a rep against Jefferson as a rookie is a keeper for the scrapbook.

Now everyone gets a breather — both teams are off Friday before Saturday’s preseason game, which is expected to be contested entirely by backups and reserves. So, for many, the real intrigue Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium isn’t the scoreboard. It’s which center trots out first, and how long he stays out there.

The Linderbaum-sized hole in the middle of this line just got bigger.

How Gwyn and Pocic fill it over the next ten days might be the most important storyline of Ravens camp.

This report is my compilation of the accounts of these practices posted by The Athletic, The Baltimore Banner, The Baltimore Sun, The Baltimore Ravens and ESPN.

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