Danny Pinter

Pinter arrived at Ball State as a lightly-recruited tight end before switching to offensive tackle, then center, turning himself into a First-Team All-MAC honoree and Ball State's most outstanding player as a senior in 2019. Indianapolis drafted him in the fifth round in 2020, and he spent six seasons there as a versatile depth piece — capable of playing center or guard — without ever locking down a full-time starting job. He signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal with Baltimore in March 2026 to compete for the center spot vacated by Tyler Linderbaum's departure in free agency.

Pinter arrived in Baltimore viewed as the favorite to start at center — a much cheaper alternative to re-signing Tyler Linderbaum, with just $1.5 million guaranteed on his deal. That outlook shifted when the Ravens signed veteran Ethan Pocic in mid-July, turning the job into a three-way competition with Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn. Head coach Jesse Minter has kept it open: "I expect him to jump in there and compete for that position, and we'll see if the best man wins." With Pocic sidelined for practice reps in August, Pinter has taken the reps with the offense and started Baltimore's preseason opener, putting him back in the driver's seat for Week 1 — though offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford has stressed nothing is settled yet.

One of the more memorable moments of Pinter's Colts tenure came as a guard, not a center: he caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz, becoming the first offensive lineman in the league to score a receiving touchdown that season — a rare bit of trickery for a player better known for his versatility up front than his hands.