Free agency and the draft both agreed, and the Baltimore Ravens still don’t have a solution under center after losing Tyler Linderbaum in free agency. There is a big hole in the middle of the attack.
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta told WBAL Radio that he had targeted the center position during the draft, but the board didn’t fall well enough to swipe one.
“Obviously the middle position right now is in flux,” he said. “We’re trying to figure it out. We weren’t able to address it in the draft. There were some guys we really liked in the draft at the center position, but the board didn’t fall the right way. Fortunately, we have time. We don’t play games until September. There will be some opportunities for us between now and then to address the center position, whether there are things we can do, it’s just free trade. It didn’t work out for us last time weekend, but I think there might be some potential trades that we can look at and something else that we can do to address that situation.”
Ravens current options: 2024 undrafted rookie Corey Bullock, who has played 13 career offensive snaps, three at center; Indianapolis starter Danny Pinter, who has started 10 games in six years, with one in 2025; and Jovaughn Gwyn, the Falcons’ 2023 7th-round pick who hasn’t started any games in his career.
DeCosta was asked if Bullock or Pinter could do the job.
“Well, now, I’d say for sure,” he said. “Danny’s a guy who’s played football. He started three or four games last year, I think. Obviously we’ve got Corey Bullock. I think the Gwyn kid is a good prospect as well. We’ll have a plan. I’ve got a lot of confidence in (offensive lineman) Declan (Doyle) and coach Dwayensne, I take comfort. Excited about how it’s going to look like I said, our scouts are doing a great job of finding players, we’ll keep appreciating the players out there and I’m sure when September rolls around, we’ll have our best team.
At this point, getting anything close to Linderbaum’s production is out the window. Now DeCosta is just hoping for a papier-mâché option to fall into his lap before this season. The current free trade stack has been picked up. It’s possible that in camp, a veteran could become available if he’s losing a starting battle – ie. if second-round rookie Logan Jones clearly plays better than Chicago’s Garrett Bradbury.
Either way, DeCosta is counting on the new coaching staff to make it work, because the options are limited.