OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Had any outsider handicapped the odds for who would replace three-time Pro Bowl selection Tyler Linderbaum as the Ravens’ starting center, Jovaughn Gwyn wouldn’t have ranked higher than third at any point before mid-August.
After all, we were talking about a 2023 seventh-round pick out of South Carolina who had played just 11 offensive snaps over his first three NFL seasons in Atlanta. Not only was fellow veteran newcomer Danny Pinter ahead in the pecking order, but most were suggesting in the spring that Baltimore’s starting center wasn’t yet on the roster before mentioning Gwyn as any kind of a serious candidate.
However, it was Gwyn who moved to the front of the line when Pinter suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-August. On Monday, head coach Jesse Minter officially named the 27-year-old the Week 1 starter. That served as quite a statement about the confidence the 6-foot-2, 310-pound Gwyn has earned with a coaching staff that knew replacing Linderbaum would be a tall order.
“Just that I can get the job done. Even though I’ve been a backup for three years, I’m just trying to learn my way around the league and everything,” Gwyn said. “I’m just showing that they could trust me and that I can be in there and get the job done.”
Of course, it’s not a secret that Gwyn followed offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford and assistant offensive line coach Shawn Flaherty to Baltimore from Atlanta. The Ravens had an advantage in assessing his potential to compete for the job, but his anonymity also meant there would be no competitors for Gwyn’s services, meaning he came on a veteran-minimum deal suitable for a backup.
If nothing else, the Ravens figured Gwyn would be a helpful presence in helping to teach the way Ledford wanted to do things with a revamped offensive line.
“There’s a lot of familiarity there and some of the terminology in the run game and things like that,” Minter said. “Then again, [Gwyn] came here knowing that there was an opportunity and has been in a competition all the way back from the second he signed. He’s just taken advantage of getting a lot of reps. He’s been training for this moment for the last few years under these o-line coaches that we have.”
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In making his announcement Monday, Minter was quick to point out that it was “not necessarily a permanent decision,” which makes sense with longtime NFL starter Ethan Pocic waiting in the wings. With general manager Eric DeCosta signing the 31-year-old — with 97 career starts over nine seasons — to a deal guaranteeing him $3 million in mid-July, most assumed Pocic would be the heavy favorite to start even as the former Cleveland Brown was still working his way back from a mid-December Achilles tendon tear.
While that expectation never materialized for Week 1, it’s reasonable to anticipate Pocic being a more viable starting option the further away he gets from last year’s injury. How Gwyn fares will obviously have much to do with that as turning heads in the preseason doesn’t always translate to success when the lights come on for real.
For now, Pocic has been a sounding board to help prepare Gwyn for his first meaningful NFL action.
“It’s been good. I pick his brain; he picks my brain,” Gwyn said. “If I need help on something, he comes in and I can go to him about it. If he has a question about something, he comes to me about it. It’s real open, so we’re open to help each other definitely.”
Madubuike, Buchanan not yet ruled out for Week 1
Wednesday will bring the first official injury report of the new season, but Minter wasn’t yet ready to rule out star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) or second-year inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan (knee) for the opener in Indianapolis.
Considering Madubuike only began taking part in limited full-team work last week after an extremely gradual ramp-up during training camp, the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle being ready for Week 1 has felt like a reach for quite some time.
8“It’s just a process I would say. He’s been involved more and more just about every day,” Minter said Monday. “He’ll be involved in practice this week; he’ll be in team [work]. He’ll be doing things, and we’ll kind of see how it shakes out as we get closer to see if it’s even possible for Week 1.”
Madubuike hasn’t played since suffering a career-threatening neck injury in Week 2 last season.
Light injury report
While doubts persist about the Week 1 status of Madubuike and Buchanan, third-year wide receiver Devontez Walker was the only member of the 53-man roster not taking part in Tuesday’s practice as players returned from a long weekend off.
Walker was working out on a side field, but his potential Week 1 absence could open the door for rookie fourth-round wide receiver Elijah Sarratt to be active for a limited role behind starters Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman as well as third-round rookie Ja’Kobi Lane, who beat out Walker for the No. 3 receiver job in the preseason.
“That’ll be close. We’ll have the injury report out [Wednesday],” said Minter about Walker. “He’s dealing with something minor. I think it could go either way, but I do think we’ll get him back [at practice] before the end of the week, and then we’ll see how it goes on Sunday.
