Baltimore Ravens Name Starting Center for Week 1 vs. Colts

The Baltimore Ravens ended the long-running battle for starting center on Monday after head coach Jesse Minter named Jovaugn Gwyn the starter for the regular-season opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. 'Jesse Minter announces that Jovaughn Gwyn will start at center for Ravens in Week 1,' The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec wrote on X on Monday. 'This will be Gwyn's first NFL start.' 'It'll be the 2023 seventh-round pick's first career start,' NFL Network's Mike Garofolo wrote on his official X account. 'Veteran Ethan Pocic is still working his way back. Gwyn starts Week 1 for the Ravens after the departure of Tyler Linderbaum.' 'Ravens coach Jesse Minter named Jovaughn Gwyn as the Week 1 starting center,' ESPN's Jamison Hensley wrote on his official X account. Another potential starter, Danny Pinter, suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon on August 19. 'I think we have two really capable centers,' Minter said on Monday. 'One is obviously more proven, but he's also coming off a major injury.' Three-Way Battle to Start for Baltimore The Ravens were left in the lurch at center this offseason after losing 1 of their few reliable offensive linemen when 3-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum left for a 3-year, $81 million free-agent contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. In his place were 3 'who is that guy?' candidates trying to replace him, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. 'The battle for the center position is interesting,' Fowler wrote on August 11. 'I entered Ravens camp thinking Ethan Pocic would be the favorite, and though he might still end up winning it, the Ravens are playing this one down the middle with Pocic, Danny Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn. Why I'm not sleeping on Gwyn: He has a long history with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford, who recruited him out of high school while an assistant at NC State and coached him for three years with the Falcons.' Play Ravens Added Ethan Pocic Late in Summer Pocic was a late-summer addition and has seemed like the leading candidate to replace Linderbaum. Even if Gwyn excels, it's smart money to bet the Ravens will find a way to get Pocic on the field at some point — even if it's in spot duty at guard. 'Sources: Former Browns center Ethan Pocic, who started 97 games in nine NFL seasons before tearing his Achilles last year, is signing a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens,' ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on July 17. 'Pocic is said to be healthy, and he will have a chance to replace former Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, who signed with the Raiders.' Pocic, 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, signed a reported 1-year, $4.5 million contract with the Ravens, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He's started 97 games over 9 NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Browns. 'The Ravens had somewhat of an open competition at center heading into training camp,' Bleacher Report's James Palmer wrote on X. 'Lamar Jackson is a better presnap player than people give him credit for (a lot of disrespect going around lately actually) but there was no denying the loss of Linderbaum's intelligence was going to impact protections to some degree especially in a new offense. Now a veteran center enters the mix.'