The Baltimore Ravens are asking a lot from Vega Ioane, and they’re asking him to answer immediately.
With Tyler Linderbaum, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar, Pat Ricard and Keaton Mitchell all gone from the offense after combining for at least 400 snaps apiece a year ago, Baltimore walked into a wide-open stretch of uncertainty on that side of the ball. The front office’s answer was to use the 14th overall pick on a guard, bring in John Simpson on a $10M-a-year deal to start next to him, and then lean on a 30-something tight end who has hit the wall, a group of rookie pass catchers drafted in the middle and late rounds, and Lamar Jackson to carry more of the load yet again.
That’s the setup for Ioane, the massive Penn State interior lineman who now has to look like a seasoned veteran from the jump. He’ll be tested right away, too, with DeForest Buckner still lining up on the other side for Indianapolis in Week 1.
“As everybody knows, it is definitely a lot of pressure,” Ioane said before the team broke for Labor Day weekend. “A lot of expectations and things like that, but it is out of my control.
All I can do is go out there, play ball. make the guys I play next to trust me, knowing that I will be out there doing the best I can, knowing what I am doing. But at the end of the day, it is just playing ball."
That trust piece matters, because Baltimore hasn’t really had a true game-speed dress rehearsal with this line. Outside of a few snaps in joint practices, this five-man group has not played together in a real game situation with the quarterback getting hit. The Ravens also didn’t do much with their other 10 draft picks to help the offensive line, and their late addition at center, Ethan Pocic, is still not a sure thing for the opener.
Ioane didn’t play a snap with Pocic in the preseason games. He logged 17 snaps with Jovaughn Gwyn at center and none next to right tackle Roger Rosengarten. He did point to backup center Danny Pinter, who is now on season-ending IR, as someone who helped him settle in.
“That is the whole part of playing this game,” Ioane said of the challenge ahead. “You go against guys who have been in the league for 10 years, 10-plus, things like that. But going against an opponent like that is going to be a good thing for me.
“Going to be a challenge throughout the entire game, but I am a first-round pick. The team trusted me to be their first pick, so I just have to go out there and perform and prove the team right."
There’s real belief around the league that Ioane can turn into a perennial All-Pro type if the center play stabilizes. One longtime personnel evaluator who watched him closely in college said, “I told you, the comp for me is Quenton Nelson,” and went on to say Ioane has rare traits that could put a Canton, Ohio trip in play despite the position he plays.
Still, the early challenge is obvious. The offense Declan Doyle is helping install comes with new demands in tempo, cadence and under-center work, and that puts pressure on the interior line right away.
Doyle said this summer, “There is certainly an emphasis on the tempo in which we break the huddle, the cadence we use,” Doyle said this summer. “That stuff is all a huge piece to what happens post-snap."
That’s not a small detail for a unit that has to get on the same page fast. The Colts are expected to mix in twists and stunts, and they may lean on some of the same ideas Brian Flores used in the preseason against Baltimore, when the Ravens’ linemen had trouble despite the opposing starting tackles not playing.
Baltimore’s offense is changing, but one thing has not: Lamar Jackson remains the constant. He is 9-1 all-time against Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, dating back to Anarumo’s time with the Bengals, and he’s entering Week 1 as fresh and healthy as he’ll be all season before taking his first hit.
And even with all the new faces, all the uncertainty, and all the pressure on a rookie guard, Jackson is still the piece that makes everything go.
In Other News...
Lamar Jackson's Next Deal Could Shape Everything For The Ravens
The Ravens already have one of the leagues most important roster questions sitting in plain view, and it reaches well beyond the present season. With a $41.5 million salary cap deficit projected for 2027, Baltimore is staring at a future squeeze that could force some hard choices, and ESPNs Aaron Schatz, using OverTheCap data, points to Lamar Jacksons contract as the most obvious place to start easing the pressure.
A long-term extension for Jackson would help spread that cap hit over more years and give the Ravens some much-needed room to maneuver, but it is the kind of move that comes with its own set of complications. For a team built around a franchise quarterback, the structure of the next deal may end up influencing not just the cap sheet, but the shape of the roster around him for years to come. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens May Be Entering A Farewell Year For Key Starters
The Ravens are staring at a familiar kind of offseason crossroads, the sort that comes when a roster is built around expensive veterans and the bill starts to come due. With a payroll tied up in older players and others carrying injury concerns, Baltimore is expected to face significant changes heading into the 2027 season, even as general manager Eric DeCosta has continued to show confidence in some players despite uneven recent results.
Marlon Humphrey sits near the center of that conversation, and Ronnie Stanley does too, especially with left tackle now looking like a position the Ravens may attack early in the 2027 draft. For a team that has leaned on veteran stability for years, the next stretch could determine which core pieces are still around and which familiar faces are approaching their final run in purple. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Face One Big Question Up Front Entering Week 1
The Ravens spent much of the offseason trying to get sturdier up front, and most of that work centered on the interior of the offensive line. General manager Eric DeCosta has made it clear the team still has some sorting to do, especially with the starting five, and center remains the spot drawing the most attention as Ethan Pocic and Jovaughn Gwyn compete for the job.
Vega Ioane has added a promising note during preseason, but the bigger picture is still about how quickly the group can come together once the games count. For a team with high expectations, the early weeks could test both the lines chemistry and the staffs patience as Baltimore tries to settle on the best combination. [Read more 🡒]