Danny Pinter Injury 2026: Ravens Lose Projected Starting Center

Danny Pinter tore a patellar tendon in Wednesday's joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings and his 2026 season is over, NFL Network insiders Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported. The Danny Pinter injury takes Baltimore's projected starting center off the board eighteen days before the regular season opens, and it takes him off the board at the one position on the line where continuity is not a luxury. Pinter left Wednesday's session on a cart and underwent imaging that confirmed the worst version of it.

How the Danny Pinter Injury Leaves Baltimore Exposed

Pinter was on track to earn a starting job for the first time since entering the league as a fifth-round pick of the Colts in the 2020 draft. He was not a placeholder either. Per NFL.com it seemed as if he had the inside track on the top pivot job, working with Lamar Jackson and the first team.

The context is a full year of churn in the middle. Tyler Linderbaum left for Las Vegas in March on a three-year deal reported at $81 million, and Baltimore has been rebuilding the interior around that hole since. Pinter arrived on a one-year deal with a chance to compete for the role, and reporting had him ahead in that competition.

Baltimore did buy insurance. The Ravens signed veteran Ethan Pocic in late July, which at the time read as depth behind a competition Pinter was leading. About a month later Pocic is the fallback.

Ethan Pocic Inherits a Job He Is Still Rehabbing For

Pocic is coming back from an Achilles injury suffered in 2025, and NFL.com frames Baltimore's position plainly: the Ravens are left to hope he can ramp up in time to handle the responsibilities and the physical toll of the starting job. If he cannot, they either go further down their own depth chart or return to the free agent market.

That is a real fork with a hard deadline attached. The 53-man cutdown is 3 p.m. PT on Sunday 30 August, moved up from the traditional Tuesday, and waiver claims are awarded on Monday 31 August. Every club has to get from 90 players to 53 in that window. Players with fewer than four credited seasons go to waivers rather than straight to free agency, and a club that claims one takes on the existing contract and has to release someone to make room.

Joint Practices Are Where This Preseason Is Losing Players

Pinter is not an isolated case, and the pattern is specific enough to be worth naming. He went down in a joint session with Minnesota. Chargers center Tyler Biadasz suffered ACL damage plus additional left knee injuries in Tuesday's joint practice with the 49ers and is out indefinitely, per NFL.com. Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins tore his ACL in Tuesday's joint practice with the Raiders and has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Seahawks receiver Jake Bobo was carted off a joint practice with Tennessee on Friday with what head coach Mike Macdonald called a serious knee injury that is expected to be long-term, pending an MRI.

Four significant injuries inside a single week, all four in joint sessions, is the sort of run that shapes how coaching staffs treat the last preseason weekend. For Baltimore specifically, it lands in the same week the Chargers lost their own center indefinitely, and NFL.com reports the Ravens may have to look further down the depth chart or turn back to the free agent market.

Betting and DFS Impact

No dated DraftKings or FanDuel number for Baltimore's win total or its conference futures was obtainable at the time of writing, so none is printed here. What can be said is where the exposure sits.

A center handles the snap and then his block, so an unsettled center is a variable in pass protection and run blocking alike. For a quarterback who operates out of shotgun and under center in the same series and improvises off structure, that is not a rotational concern.

Two practical reads for the first month of the season. First, Baltimore's early-season team totals carry added uncertainty, because the replacement is himself returning from a major lower-leg injury and, per NFL.com, was signed in late July as insurance behind a Pinter who had been working with the first team. Second, Jackson's rushing and passing props in September are worth watching for how they are priced against a line that has taken no live snaps together in this configuration.

The StatSniper AI sports picks hub carries the NFL board through the openers, and Chad AI tracks every prop on the slate inside the app.

What to Watch Next

Whether Pocic takes the first-team snaps in Baltimore's remaining preseason work is the first tell. After that it is the 30 August 53-man cutdown and the waiver wire, where a starting-caliber center occasionally falls out of a roster crunch elsewhere. Baltimore's first real answer arrives in Week 1, when the line faces a live pass rush that counts. Full injury detail is at NFL.com.

FAQ

What is the Danny Pinter injury? A torn patellar tendon, suffered in Wednesday's joint practice with the Vikings, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. His 2026 season is finished.

Who starts at center for the Ravens now? Ethan Pocic is the next man up. He signed in late July and is returning from a 2025 Achilles injury, and NFL.com reports Baltimore is hoping he can ramp up in time.

Why did the Ravens need a new center in 2026? Tyler Linderbaum signed with Las Vegas in March on a three-year deal reported at $81 million. Pinter joined on a one-year contract to compete for the vacancy.

Can Baltimore still add a center? Yes. The 53-man cutdown is Sunday 30 August, when every club has to cut from 90 players to 53, and waiver claims are awarded on Monday 31 August.

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