The Baltimore Ravens’ already muddled center competition took a scary turn Wednesday when Danny Pinter was carted off the field during a joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings in Eagan, Minnesota. Pinter left with a brace fastened around his right knee after appearing to get rolled up on, and he was surrounded by teammates as medical staff attended to him before helping him onto the cart.
Pinter had been squarely in the mix to become Baltimore’s Week 1 starting center, a job that opened up when three-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum departed in free agency for a three-year, $81 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. That vacancy turned into one of the most closely watched position battles of Ravens training camp, and Wednesday’s injury threatens to remove one of the three players competing for it just as the calendar turns toward the regular season.
Minter Offers No Immediate Clarity
First-year head coach Jesse Minter rushed over from the defensive side of the practice field when Pinter went down, then addressed reporters afterward without much to offer. “I don’t have any updates yet,” Minter said. “We’ll probably, hopefully as he gets some things done, gets some tests done, and we’ll see how that shakes out.” That guarded tone leaves the timeline on Pinter’s injury completely unresolved heading into the final stretch of the preseason.
With Pinter sidelined for the rest of practice, Jovaughn Gwyn stepped in with the starting unit, a notable data point in a competition that also includes veteran Ethan Pocic. Pocic arrived in Baltimore with far more experience than either of his rivals, racking up 97 career starts across nine seasons with the Seahawks and Browns before signing a one-year deal with the Ravens after recovering from a torn Achilles. Pinter, by comparison, brought 10 starts of his own from his time with the Indianapolis Colts, while Gwyn, a seventh-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2023, has yet to start an NFL game. The trio had reportedly been expected to battle for the job deep into camp, with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford saying as recently as last week that the competition could come down to the final week before the season opener.
Pinter’s injury history adds another layer of concern. He missed the entire 2023 season after breaking his ankle during Colts training camp, and any Ravens fan who watched him get carted off Wednesday understandably feared a repeat of that lost year. Until Baltimore’s medical staff completes its evaluation, the severity of this new injury and any potential absence remain unknown.
What It Means for Baltimore’s Betting Markets
Uncertainty in the trenches matters to bettors, especially for a team that has positioned itself among the top Super Bowl contenders entering the season. Baltimore opened around +1000 to +1050 to win Super Bowl LXI at multiple sportsbooks, trailing only a small handful of teams, and sits as the favorite to win the AFC at roughly +470. The Ravens are also priced as the favorite to capture the AFC North, hovering near -112 to -117 over the Cincinnati Bengals, with their regular-season win total set at 11.5.
Those numbers were built on the assumption of a Baltimore offensive line that could adequately protect Lamar Jackson and clear running lanes, even with a new face at center. An unsettled or thinned-out center competition changes that calculus, particularly since Pocic himself has already been dealing with an ankle issue of his own this preseason. If Pinter’s injury proves serious enough to sideline him for a meaningful chunk of the season, that pushes more responsibility onto Pocic or a far less experienced Gwyn to snap the ball and set protections in front of Jackson from Week 1 onward, a scenario that sportsbooks and bettors alike will be watching closely as line movement on Baltimore’s futures and win total continues into the season opener.
For now, the Ravens face a waiting game on medical results, and so does anyone holding a ticket on Baltimore’s postseason chances. Any further update on Pinter’s injury in the coming days should be treated as a market-moving data point for Ravens futures and AFC North odds alike.
