OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens have chosen their starting center.Head coach Jesse Minter announced Monday that Jovaughn Gwyn, a 27-year-old who has yet to start a game in his NFL career, will get the nod for Sunday’s Week 1 contest at the Indianapolis Colts.Danny Pinter’s season-ending knee injury on Aug. 19 during joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings made it a two-man competition between Gwyn and veteran Ethan Pocic. Gwyn has taken just about all of the first-team reps since Pinter went down, so Minter’s announcement was hardly surprising.“Got a lot of confidence in him,” Minter said. “This is a guy that when opportunity knocks, are you ready to take advantage? He’s done a really good job. He’s obviously repped a lot with our starters over the last couple of weeks.”
Minter called it a “Week 1 decision, not necessarily a permanent decision.” He also acknowledged that the season-ending Achilles injury that Pocic endured last December factored into the decision. Pocic, a nine-year veteran who has made 97 career starts, signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Ravens right before training camp and wasn’t with the team throughout the offseason program.Ravens did not address concerns about kicker position this offseasonJeff Zrebiec“Obviously, we know what Ethan is capable of,” Minter said. “He’s still coming back from the injury, but we have a lot of confidence as a staff in Jovaughn and are excited to see him get this first opportunity.”Gwyn, a 2023 seventh-round pick, played three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons under current Ravens offensive line coach and run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford. He played just 11 offensive snaps in three years for the Falcons before following Ledford to Baltimore this past offseason.The Ravens expected Gwyn to battle this summer for a reserve role. However, Pinter’s injury changed things for a team looking for a successor to Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum.Minter said that Gwyn’s familiarity with Ledford and aspects of the Ravens’ new offensive scheme gave him an edge.Gwyn now gets the opportunity to anchor a revamped Baltimore offensive line that features three new starters. Veteran free agent signing John Simpson is the team’s new left guard and rookie first-round pick Vega Ioane will start at right guard.
