OTL: Joint Practices Announced, OTAs Kick Off, Zay Graduates

We got a little bit of news ahead of the start of this week’s Organized Team Activity (OTA), as the Ravens announced that they will be participating in joint practices with two different teams this summer.

In their first training camp under Head Coach Jesse Minter, the Ravens will have joint practices with two preseason opponents.

Baltimore will visit the Minnesota Vikings for joint practices on Aug. 19th and 20th, prior to their Aug. 22 preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The following week, the Ravens will host the Washington Commanders for one joint practice at the Under Armour Performance Center on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Baltimore and Washington will face each other in the preseason finale two days later on Aug. 28 at M&T Bank Stadium (7 p.m.).

The joint practices are always a bit more interesting than usual training camp sessions, as the guys get the chance to take out their frustrations on someone other than their teammates. We regularly see these joint practices spill over into some heated tempers and fireworks, though punches are rarely thrown, thankfully.

In the more immediate future through, are OTAs, which begin today. They’re voluntary and non-contact, so nothing to get too excited about, but it gives us some football to talk about nonetheless. The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec went through some of his most pressing questions in a piece yesterday.

Among those are where exactly Lamar Jackson’s head is at with Jesse Minter at the helm…

Jackson also hasn’t fielded questions from reporters since about 30 minutes after the team’s 2025 season-ending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. What is his reaction to Harbaugh’s firing? How is his relationship with Minter and Doyle? Is there any update on his contract situation? There is a lot of ground to cover.

…as well as the state of the team’s Center competition.

Team officials have talked up their internal center options in recent months, but it isn’t clear who they view as the frontrunner to start at the position and become Tyler Linderbaum’s successor.

If experience is the biggest factor, Danny Pinter will be working with the starters. Pinter has made 10 career starts. The other perceived options are Corey Bullock, a third-year undrafted free agent, and Jovaughn Gwyn, a 2023 Atlanta Falcons seventh-round pick. Neither has started an NFL game.

The Ravens wanted to come out of the draft with a starting center, but the two prospects they saw as potential plug-and-play guys, Iowa’s Logan Jones and Florida’s Jake Slaughter, were selected well before Baltimore was on the clock in the third round. DeCosta acknowledged after the draft that there could be trade options that the Ravens could explore. It’s very possible — if not probable — that Baltimore’s starting center in 2026 isn’t currently on the roster. But this week should at least reveal the leader in the clubhouse.

This week’s Ravens Wired will feature some footage from inside the Draft War Room, and the team teased the episode with some cool clips yesterday.

The conversations that happen inside the war room on draft night are ones fans rarely get to hear. Until now.

See more on Wired at 8 p.m.: https://t.co/to1BNtNYs3 pic.twitter.com/Dty8qQoIpn

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 18, 2026

The war room reaction when @ZionReese3 was still on the board at 45.

Wired is live. Don’t miss it: https://t.co/to1BNtNqCv pic.twitter.com/2sdh01aONT

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 19, 2026

The episode premieres Wednesday at 8 PM on the team’s YouTube channel.

Finally, congratulations are in order for Zay Flowers, who completed his degree at Boston College!

A journey worth celebrating!@ZayFlowers pic.twitter.com/Pql38Rulgq

— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) May 18, 2026

Now, let’s sit back and see what stories emerge from OTAs…

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