The Baltimore Ravens lost Tyler Linderbaum for the biggest center deal in NFL history. The club was never able to replace a Pro Bowler with a clear-cut starter in free agency and didn’t draft a pivot.
Going into offseason workouts, who would walk Lamar Jackson to the ball was one of the most intriguing storylines. It remains a mystery as to how Baltimore wrapped up its pre-training camp with two days of mandatory minicamp.
Danny Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn shared the lead over the two days, with Pinter first on Tuesday and Gwyn on Wednesday. Corey Bullock, who backed up Linderbaum last year, has been dealing with injuries but will be in the running for training camp in July.
What is old John Madden saying? When you have three centers, you have none?
“These guys are competing well. They’re doing a pretty good job for me,” Jackson said. “I like our choice, for sure.”
On the one hand, what does Jackson have to say? Trashing his teammates or complaining about how his superiors acted? On the other hand, maybe at this stage of the offseason, when it’s not full-contact hitting like it will be in training camp, they look good. Honestly, we won’t know until the real action heats up.
The center battle will be the focus as we head into Ravens training camp and the preseason.
“I’d say it’s a pretty even race right now,” Minter said. “I think Danny and Jovaughn both did great. … Especially with that position — because we haven’t had pads yet, and they’re new — it’s definitely going to adjust a little bit more as we get pads on.”
It will be imperative that Minter and new OC Decan Doyle sort out the contact point as soon as possible so whoever wins the starting gig can mesh with the rest of the team and settle with Jackson. If the middle of the line fails, it could crumble the entire operation Doyle is trying to set up — one Jackson is excited to unveil this season.
“I feel like there’s going to be a lot of explosiveness this year,” Jackson said. “The way Declan calls plays and his creativity with his mind — how detailed he is — it’s fascinating.”
It won’t be spectacular if the center repeatedly whiffs and a defender is in Jackson’s face off the snap.