The Baltimore Ravens lost both of their centers in their Week 3 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately, on Monday, head coach Jesse Minter confirmed that these injuries will be " a bit long-term." With both Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic out for multiple weeks, the Ravens' center position is in flux. These injuries come after Danny Pinter's season-ending injury in the offseason.
With these injuries, rookie guard Vega Ioane is the most likely candidate to shift over to fill this center void.
Vega Ioane is the Baltimore Ravens' best center option
Ioane took over in the fourth quarter when Pocic got injured, and he held up well. He did have a small amount of experience playing center at Penn State. Minter also noted that Ioane has taken reps at center during practice. Regardless, there's no denying that shifting him over to center long-term will be a tall task.
You'd be hard-pressed to find other options outside of Ioane to fill this center void. Internally, the Ravens have Andrew Vorhees and Emery Jones Jr. as backup interior linemen. We've all seen Vorhees play guard, and nobody should want to see him at center. Jones has upside, but he's raw and struggled in limited opportunities, including preseason.
The Ravens could look to reunite with Kevin Zeitler. He could save Baltimore from playing Vorhees, but he's a guard, and signing him would still result in Vega playing center. Pulling off a trade for a quality center will be tricky, given how much teams value o-line depth. Simply put, all signs point to Ioane playing center for at least the next several weeks.
Why playing Ioane at center is risky
As noted, earlier playing Ioane at center is a clear risk.
Vega is a natural guard and was touted as the best guard prospect since Quenton Nelson. Moving him away from this spot is risky.
And while Ioane had a strong showing in Week 3, he's had some rookie growing pains. Ioane has allowed six pressures per PFF (including a costly one in Week 2 that led to a Lamar Jackson interception). That's not to say Vega has been awful, but he's shown some of his inexperience, especially in pass protection, and shifting positions could complicate things.
Ioane will have more responsibilities as a center, being the team's main communicator. He's a smart player, but that's a lot to ask for a rookie. The Ravens' o-line has long been a concern. In the past few years, it's mostly stemmed from interior pressure. That will remain a concern, but throw in a rookie adjusting to a new position, and things could get really messy.
The good news is that Vega played well in the fourth quarter on Sunday, and there's hope that with more reps at the spot, he'll look better and better.
Add us as a preferred source on Google