Ravens training camp battles to watch: With Tyler Linderbaum gone, who’s next at center?

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The Ravens’ losses this offseason spread far and wide.

On offense, they watched six regular contributors, led by Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, leave in free agency. On defense, three starters departed, including their most productive pass rusher, outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones. Even All-Pro punter Jordan Stout was not retained.

Yet as Ravens players trickle back into Owings Mills ahead of the start of training camp July 29, few starting jobs are up for grabs. Most roster holes have been filled. The quality of general manager Eric DeCosta’s replacements might be patchwork, but for now, anyway, they’ll hold.

Here’s a look at the most intriguing position battles on the Ravens’ 90-man roster, from offense to defense to special teams.

Starting center

Coach Jesse Minter called this a “pretty balanced competition” at mandatory minicamp in June, but Danny Pinter should enter camp with the edge. With Corey Bullock sidelined for part of offseason workouts, Pinter got the majority of the Ravens’ first-string snaps.

DeCosta said in an interview Thursday on 105.7 The Fan’s “Vinny & Haynie Show” that offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford has confidence in the 30-year-old, who played just 138 offensive snaps last season for the Indianapolis Colts.

“Do I feel that Danny could play effectively for us?” DeCosta said. “I do, because Dwayne is really high on him, and I love that.”

DeCosta also voiced confidence in Jovaughn Gwyn and Bullock, but neither has Pinter’s experience (10 career starts). DeCosta acknowledged the possibility of adding another center, though he said the Ravens likely would wait until after the first week of camp to consider their options.

Chicago Bears center Garrett Bradbury, who played for Ledford at North Carolina State, has been often linked to the Ravens as a potential trade target. Free agent Ethan Pocic, a former starter with the Cleveland Browns, could be a buy-low signing. Despite tearing his Achilles tendon in December, he’s reportedly been medically cleared to participate in football activities.

Fourth eligible receiver

Most modern NFL offenses operate primarily out of three-wide-receiver sets. Not for the past two years in Baltimore, though. Under former coordinator Todd Monken, the Ravens used 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers) on just 28% and 30% of their snaps in 2024 and 2025, respectively, according to SumerSports. Their most common grouping was 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends and two wide receivers), and they also featured 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end and two wide receivers) regularly with fullback Patrick Ricard.

Will the Ravens opt for size or speed under new coordinator Declan Doyle? That depends on how their pieces come together. Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers will lead the receiving corps. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman and tight end Mark Andrews are coming off disappointing campaigns but are expected to start.

After them, though, snaps are up for grabs. Offseason signing Durham Smythe is the team’s top blocking tight end but is limited as a receiving option. Wide receiver Devontez Walker has field-stretching speed but just seven career catches. Rookie wide receivers Elijah Sarratt and Ja’Kobi Lane are unproven. LaJohntay Wester didn’t have a catch in Year 1. They should all play this season, or at least vie for playing time, but Doyle’s search for the Ravens’ best groupings will dictate their approach on offense.

Starting inside linebacker

Teddye Buchanan’s recovery from a December ACL tear could turn this into a toss-up. DeCosta said Thursday that Buchanan will return to practice “sooner than later” and called his rehabilitation one of the best he’s seen in three decades in Baltimore. Minter was optimistic about Buchanan’s recovery in June, too, saying he expected him to be ready for the start of camp.

But, if Buchanan is slow to find the form that earned him Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie honors (93 tackles in 13 starts) last year, Trenton Simpson could be ready to pounce on the spot next to Roquan Smith. He had 66 tackles in six starts last year — almost as many stops (73) as he had in 13 starts in 2024 — and was a solid, versatile pass rusher. Smith said in June that “this is the best I’ve seen him since I’ve been around.”

Simpson should at least contribute on special teams, as he did last season. But, with free agency approaching next year, he’ll have extra motivation to get on the field.

Sixth defensive back

This could be a quietly important role, even with good health in the Ravens’ secondary. If defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver leans more on dime personnel (six defensive backs) in obvious passing situations this season, which defensive backs are taking the field, and where?

Only four starters seem locked in as every-down players — cornerbacks Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey and safeties Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks — and only Wiggins and Starks have predictable alignments. Wiggins has lined up primarily as an outside cornerback and Starks primarily as a deep-lying safety.

Humphrey, coming off maybe his most disappointing season in Baltimore, can play on the outside, in the slot or even at safety in a pinch. Hamilton is one of the NFL’s best nickel backs but can also pair with Starks as the Ravens’ last line of defense.

With all those moving parts, where do outside corners Chidobe Awuzie and T.J. Tampa figure in? How do Keyon Martin and rookie Chandler Martin earn playing time as slot corners? And do those questions even matter if Jaylinn Hawkins gives the Ravens a third every-down safety?

Weaver and pass game coordinator and secondary coach Mike Mickens will have the preseason to figure out the defense’s game of musical chairs.

Starting kick and punt returners

The real test here will come in the preseason, when the pressure to field balls and make defenders miss will be ratcheted up. But offseason workouts offered a preview of the potential competitions.

In one mandatory minicamp practice, five players handled kickoffs during a special teams period: wide receivers Dayton Wade and Wester, running backs Rasheen Ali and Adam Randall, and rookie cornerback Matthew McDoom. Ali had 30 returns for 763 yards (25.4 per return) last season, while Wester had 10 returns for 246 yards (24.6 per return). Running back Justice Hill could also be in the mix.

The punt return field in another minicamp practice was smaller: Wester, the incumbent starter who averaged 12.4 yards per return on 16 attempts last season; Wade, who was primarily a kick returner in college; and Sarratt, who did not return punts or kicks in college.

DeCosta said Thursday that Wester has “really impressed” him, not only with his receiving ability but also his athleticism. “He looks very explosive and kind of a problem for people,” he said.