Tyler Linderbaum walked, and for months the Ravens’ plan at center was, essentially, hope. Danny Pinter, Jovaughn Gwyn, a couple of other names you’d need a roster sheet to recognize — that was the competition. Now Baltimore has added someone who has actually done the job, and done it in the division, for the better part of a decade.
Former Cleveland Browns and Seattle Seahawks center Ethan Pocic is signing a one-year contract with the Ravens, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. The deal is worth $3 million with up to $1.5 million in incentives, likely tied to playing time, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. For context, Pinter — the most experienced internal option before Pocic’s arrival — signed for $2.75 million in March.
Pocic, 30, tore his Achilles last December while starting for Cleveland. He has since been medically cleared and is expected to be ready for the start of training camp, though he may go through a brief ramp-up as he acclimates to offensive coordinator Declan Doyle’s system and shakes off the rust of a seven-month rehab. The Ravens hosted Pocic for a visit in May; a recent medical check on the Achilles was the final hurdle before signing.
Here is where the numbers do the talking. Pocic has 97 starts in 114 career appearances — 6,275 snaps across nine seasons. That is more experience than any Ravens offensive lineman not named Ronnie Stanley. He was a full-time starter for four years in Cleveland and two in Seattle before that. His best season came in 2022, when he established himself as a reliable run blocker and earned a multiyear extension to stay with the Browns.
Of the internal candidates he is now competing against, only Pinter has started an NFL game — never in Week 1, never more than three times in a single season. Gwyn, Nick Dawkins, and Corey Bullock round out a group that, frankly, was not going to make anyone in the AFC North lose sleep. Pocic changes that math immediately.
Linderbaum’s departure created the opening. He developed into one of the league’s premier centers over four seasons in Baltimore before signing a three-year, $81 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. That is the hole Pocic is being asked to fill — not at that level, not at that price, but with enough competence to keep the middle of the line from becoming a problem for Lamar Jackson and a rushing attack that remains the engine of the Ravens’ offense.
The AFC North familiarity matters more than it sounds. Pocic has spent four years identifying defensive fronts, making protection calls, and anchoring against the same interior linemen he will now see twice a season from the other sideline. The adjustment is minimal. The Achilles is the real question — offensive linemen live on lower-body strength and balance, and Baltimore will need to monitor his workload once practices begin.
The one-year structure limits the Ravens’ exposure. If Pocic’s Achilles doesn’t hold, they move on. If it does, they may have found a Week 1 starter for $3 million in a market where Linderbaum just fetched $27 million per year. That is the bet.
Pocic does not need to be Linderbaum. He needs to deliver dependable snaps, sort out protections, and keep the offense functioning. His arrival does not close the competition — but it gives Baltimore the most accomplished center on its roster since the day Linderbaum left, and a legitimate favorite to start in September if the medicals check out.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports / Ravens Wire — Ravens sign veteran center Ethan Pocic to one-year contract
- Yahoo Sports — Ravens sign former Browns center Ethan Pocic