The Ravens drafted an offensive lineman in the first round and added another one later in the draft, but neither of those players provided them with an option to replace the departed Tyler Linderbaum at center.
First-rounder Vega Ioane and seventh-rounder Evan Beerntsen were both guards in college, so the team still has Corey Bullock, Jovaughn Gwyn and Danny Pinter in line to compete for the center spot. General Manager Eric DeCosta said over the weekend that “there were a couple centers that we really liked,” but both went off the board after the team took edge rusher Zion Jones in the second round.
DeCosta said he was “a little surprised” that Logan Jones and Jake Slaughter came off the board at that point and that the value was not there for the Ravens to trade back up after selecting Jones. He also said he did not see prospects later in the draft who were likely to “be an impact player for us this year.”
“A lot of times when you find yourself in a position like that — and we’ve been in this many years — it’s just the pick that you have, the number that you have and not just being able to maneuver the right way or not having the ammunition or maybe the cost of doing so is probably prohibitive,” DeCosta said, via a transcript from the team. “So, [it’s] unfortunate, but I’m ecstatic with the players that we were able to get. Honestly, like looking at this list of players, I probably wouldn’t do anything differently.”
DeCosta said he has confidence in the options that the team has in place and that he thinks “we’ll have a great offensive line” once all the pieces are in place this fall.
Ravens Clips
If the NFL doesn’t work out for quarterback Diego Pavia, he’ll have options in other leagues.
And if Pavia looks to Canada, one team already has secured his negotiating rights.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers would have dibs on Pavia, if Pavia decides to give the CFL a try. The Blue Bombers squatted on Pavia back in 2024.
The UFL is another option for Pavia, too. For now, though, he’ll try to parlay a tryout at the Ravens’ rookie minicamp into a spot on the 90-man roster.
If that doesn’t happen, and if no other NFL team gives him a shot, it’ll be the CFL or the UFL for Pavia. If he wants to keep playing.
One of the biggest stories to emerge after the 2026 NFL draft was the fact that, for the first time since 2014, a draft-eligible Heisman finalist was not selected.
It got worse, when former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia didn’t quickly land a spot on anyone’s incoming class of undrafted free agents — some of which approach 20 members.
Pavia ultimately accepted an invitation to participate in the Ravens’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. It gives him an opportunity to do enough to secure a spot on the offseason roster. If he does enough during the weekend session with other rookies and tryout players to land on the 90-man roster, he’ll then get an opportunity to do enough during the balance of the offseason program to stick around.
That could become an opportunity to do enough in training camp and the preseason to win a spot on the 53-man roster or the practice squad.
It’s a steep hill to climb. But Pavia has a chance to show that the scouts who made him not only undraftable but also unsignable got it wrong.
Ultimately, he may have to look for other ways to get live reps. The CFL or the UFL could provide that opportunity.
It will make for a compelling story, if he can pull it off. And it starts with getting a foot in the door. For now, he has one. What happens from here will be up to him.
Diego Pavia is getting a chance to make a positive impression.
Pavia has accepted an invitation to participate in Ravens rookie minicamp next weekend, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Pavia went unrafted out of Vanderbilt and did not receive a contract as a rookie free agent on the open market.
A Heisman Trophy finalist in 2025, Pavia was a four-year starter across two programs, Pavia completed 62.2 percent of his passes in 53 career games for 10,255 yards with 88 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He also rushed for 3,098 yards with 31 TDs.
Listed at 5-foot-10 and 203 pounds, Pavia also has a history of creating controversy, both of which likely contributed to him going undrafted over the weekend.
Ownership has its privileges.
For Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, one of those privileges came in the fifth round of the draft on Saturday. For the first time since he bought the team, Bisciotti made the choice on one of the team’s draft picks.
General Manager Eric DeCosta said in a press conference that selecting former Clemson running back Adam Randall was Bisciotti’s call.
“When we were down in Florida, Steve was begging for a draft pick and he owns the team,” DeCosta said, via the team’s website. “I said, ‘Yes, Steve, of course you can have a draft pick.’ So we decided on our last fifth-round pick. He did his research and studied the tape, talked to people. He has a really good relationship with the Clemson head coach.
Randall ran 168 times for 814 yards and 10 touchdowns while catching 36 passes for 254 yards and three scores as a member of Dabo Swinney’s team in 2025. That caught Bisciotti’s eye, but earning a role in a backfield with Derrick Henry, Justice Hill and Rasheen Ali will be up to Randall.
The Ravens are adding a familiar name to their secondary.
Baltimore is signing undrafted free agent defensive back Lardarius Webb Jr., whose father Lardarius Webb Sr. played his entire nine-year career with the Ravens.
Webb Jr. had a long and winding road in college football. He initially committed to Nebraska out of high school but never played there, instead starting his college career at the junior college level at Jones College. He then went to Oklahoma State, then transferred to South Alabama, then finally transferred to Wake Forest for his final season of college football last year.
Webb Jr. can play both cornerback and safety, and he may help his chances of making the roster by playing special teams as well. Listed at 5-foot-9 and 168 pounds, he does not have prototypical NFL size and he’ll have an uphill battle to make it in Baltimore, but he’ll have plenty of Ravens fans rooting for him to become the second Lardarius Webb roaming their secondary.
Pro Bowler Jordan Stout followed John Harbaugh from the Ravens to the Giants, becoming the NFL’s highest-paid punter. That left the Ravens with a need for a punter.
They selected the best one in the draft, using a sixth-round pick on Michigan State punter Ryan Eckley. He joins Luke Elzinga at the position on the roster.
Eckley was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and the 2025 Big Ten Punter of the Year.
He had a punting average of 47.6 yards per punt in his career, breaking the Big Ten record. He led the conference in punting average in 2024 (47.9) and 2025 (48.5).
Eckley placed 34 percent of his punts inside the 20-yard line (50 of 149), with 27 punts downed inside the 10. He had 67 punts of 50-plus yards.
The Ravens closed out the original Cowboys Stadium by beating Dallas on a Saturday night in December 2008. The Ravens will now be the visiting team for the Cowboys’ first-ever international home game.
The NFL announced on Friday night that the Ravens and Cowboys will play in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, September 27. It will be a Week 3 game, televised by CBS at 4:25 p.m. ET.
Most international games currently land in standalone windows. This one won’t, but it likely will be the top national game that afternoon — likely generating the biggest audience of the day.
In 2024 and 2025, the Brazilian game came in Week 1. This year, the 49ers and Rams will instead play in Australia to get things started.
Those are the only two games with both teams known. The other 270 will be announced in the next few weeks.
The Ravens have selected guard Olaivavega Ioane out of Penn State at No. 14 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
One of the top offensive linemen in the 2026 draft class, Ioane appeared in 44 games with 32 starts for the Nittany Lions.
He spent all of his time at left guard.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, Ioane will be an important part of the five up front for Baltimore and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens have made an expected move to keep one of their top players for another year.
According to multiple reports, Baltimore has exercised receiver Zay Flowers’ fifth-year option, putting him under contract through 2027.
He is set to earn $27.298 million guaranteed in what is now the last year of his rookie deal.
Flowers, the No. 22 overall pick of the 2023 draft, was the first Ravens wideout in team history to make the Pro Bowl in 2024. He followed that with an even better season in 2025, recording 86 catches for 1,211 yards with five touchdowns, earning his second Pro Bowl berth.
In his 50 career games with 48 starts, Flowers has caught 237 passes for 3,128 yards with 14 touchdowns.
