The Ravens have chosen Jovaughn Gwyn as their starting center in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts, Head Coach Jesse Minter announced Monday.
The competition to replace Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum lasted all summer and took a turn when Danny Pinter suffered a season-ending knee injury in a joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 19.
In the end, Gwyn won the job, at least at the start of the season, and will make the first start of his NFL career in his fourth year.
“Got a lot of confidence in him,” Minter said. “This is a guy that when opportunity knocks, are you ready to take advantage? And he’s done a really good job.”
Gwyn spent his first three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, where he was coached by now Ravens Offensive Line Coach Dwayne Ledford. That familiarity with the scheme and terminology gave Gwyn an advantage.
After Pinter went down, Gwyn was competing with veteran Ethan Pocic, who has much more experience (97 career starts), but got a later start with the team, as he’s working his way back from an Achilles injury last December.
Minter said it’s a Week 1 decision. Gwyn will have to play well against a big, veteran Colts front that includes defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart.
“I think we have two really capable centers,” Minter said. “Obviously, one (Pocic) has a lot of experience and is probably more proven, but is also coming off of a major injury and I think that at times sort of limited the competition a little bit. So for Week 1, we think this gives us the best opportunity to operate and do the things we need to do.”