Center Sam Mustipher, an Owings Mills native, signs

The Ravens have been without a backup center since Trystan Colon bolted for the New York Jets in free agency this offseason. Monday, they filled that vacancy.

Free agent Sam Mustipher, who spent his first three years with the Chicago Bears, has signed with the Ravens, the team announced on Monday. It’s reportedly a one-year contract.

For Mustipher, it’s also a homecoming. The 26-year-old grew up in Owings Mills and starred at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney before going to Notre Dame.

The Bears declined to extend a restricted free agent tender to Mustipher in March.

Undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2019, Mustipher surprisingly became the Bears’ center late in the 2020 season, starting the last six games of the year. The following season, he started all 17 but struggled, with a Pro Football Focus grade of just 51 for 2021.

Though he improved last season, earning a 63.4 mark from PFF, Mustipher was at best inconsistent, particularly with his pass blocking. Six times he earned a grade of less than 54 and Fields was sacked 55 times in 15 games, though Mustipher only gave up two of them, according to PFF.

Mustipher was better with his run blocking, however, earning a PFF grade of 65.5 for a Bears offensive line that had the seventh-best run blocking grade in the league in 2022.

Meanwhile, Mustipher’s younger brother, PJ, who played at McDonogh and then Penn State, is currently a rookie defensive tackle with the Denver Broncos after signing with them as an undrafted free agent last month.

The Ravens also announced Monday that they waived cornerback Thakarius “Bopete” Keyes. The 25-year-old was a seventh-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and was signed to the Ravens’ practice squad late last season.