Ravens Center Danny Pinter Suffers Season-Ending Patella Tear in Joint Practice

NFL joint practices are basically just organized brawls where someone inevitably loses a season. This time, the bill came due for the Baltimore Ravens.\n\nCenter Danny Pinter suffered a torn patella tendon during Wednesday's joint session with the Minnesota Vikings. According to Mike Garafolo, the injury wipes out a 2026 campaign that was actually shaping up to be a redemption tour.\n\nPinter was the frontrunner for the starting job, taking the bulk of the first-team reps after Tyler Linderbaum took the money and ran to the Las Vegas Raiders. Instead of anchoring the line for Lamar Jackson, Pinter is headed back to rehab.\n\nYou have to feel for the guy. Pinter already lost his entire 2023 season to a fractured ankle in August. Having your body betray you twice in the same month three years apart is the kind of bad luck that makes you want to walk into the ocean.\n\nFor anyone holding Ravens futures tickets or banking on Lamar Jackson's MVP odds, the interior offensive line is officially a blinking red light. The immediate backup plan is Ethan Pocic, which would be great if Pocic wasn't currently trying to return from his own Achilles tear suffered last December.\n\nIf Pocic cannot get up to speed, the job falls to Jovaughn Gwyn. Gwyn graded out well in the preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, but asking a depth piece to suddenly call out protections against live regular-season blitzes is a massive gamble.\n\nThe Ravens and Vikings square off in an actual preseason game this Saturday. Do not be shocked if head coach Jesse Minter decides to wrap every remaining healthy offensive lineman in industrial bubble wrap until Week 1.