The Baltimore Ravens defense should be in good hands with Jesse Minter as head coach and Anthony Weaver stepping in as defensive coordinator. As long as Nnamdi Madubuike and some of the key defensive pieces stay healthy, expectations remain high for that side of the ball. 

The offense, however, is where the real questions live for Baltimore heading into the 2026 season. New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who coached under Ben Johnson last year, inherits an offensive infrastructure with known commodities in quarterback Lamar Jackson, wide receiver Zay Flowers, and running back Derrick Henry. 

Beyond that core, though, the Ravens’ supporting cast carries legitimate concern.

The offseason losses and roster volatility are piling up. Baltimore lost tight end Isaiah Likely to the New York Giants in free agency. Tight end Mark Andrews appears to be trending downward. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman is dealing with off-the-field issues, including a domestic violence charge reported by TMZ last week. 

And perhaps most critically, the assumed starting center replacing one of the best in the NFL, Danny Pinter, went down with a knee injury and is out for the entirety of the year. That leaves Ethan Pocic as the starting center for the Ravens heading into the regular season.

The offensive line problem runs deeper than one injury

Losing Tyler Linderbaum this offseason was already a massive blow. Having a top-3 center elevates an entire offense in ways that are extremely underrated, and Linderbaum was the perfect center for what Baltimore ran. 

Pinter was supposed to soften that drop-off, but even that was going to represent a step down. Now with Pocic sliding into the role, the Ravens are taking yet another step down at a position that anchors everything they do up front.

Baltimore’s offensive line play was already a problem last season. The issues that plagued the unit a year ago have not gone away, and losing Pinter only compounds the situation. 

For a team that relies heavily on the ground game and Lamar Jackson’s ability to operate behind a functional pocket, the center position could become a gigantic question mark.

The Derrick Henry immortality debate

Henry is 32 years old. He has never shown signs of slowing down, and at some point, that track record earns him the benefit of the doubt. But how many times can the football world keep saying that before the crash arrives? 

Maybe he puts together another productive season in 2026. Maybe the decline doesn’t come until 2027 or 2028. Nobody truly knows. The reality is that at some point, the age factor will catch up, and the Ravens need to be prepared for that moment rather than letting it hit them like a brick.

The broader concern is the volatility of this offense. If Henry goes down with an injury at any point, Jackson would need to wear the Superman cape more than a quarterback with his own history of injuries should have to. 

The margin for error on this roster feels razor thin. One or two significant injuries could push this offense to a breaking point where there simply is not enough depth to survive.

Reasons for cautious optimism at the skill positions

The skill position group around Jackson is not dramatically different from what he has had in the past. 

Baltimore has not lost anyone from that core group who would fundamentally alter the offense. Flowers is still there. Bateman, despite the off-the-field concerns, still brings talent to the wide receiver room. There is intrigue around younger options who could carve out roles this season.

Elijah Sarratt contributing as a fourth option on this offense would not be surprising. There is also growing buzz around Ja’Kobi Lane during training camp. The Ravens have needed a ball winner at the receiver position, and while Lane has not been the steadiest prospect in terms of his development, the right situation can unlock a player’s best traits. 

If he is making noise in camp, that is worth buying into, because Jackson has needed a player with that skill set for a while.

The talent on this Ravens offense is real, but the depth behind the top options is thin. Baltimore is banking on health, on Doyle’s ability to replicate some of what Ben Johnson built, and on young players stepping into larger roles. If everything breaks right, this offense has the ceiling to compete. 

If the volatility catches up to them, the Ravens could find themselves in a difficult spot with very little room to maneuver.