Tyler Linderbaum
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Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.
The Baltimore Ravens need wins this offseason after not getting enough of them during a regular season that saw them miss the playoffs and ended with Super Bowl-winning head coach John Harbaugh losing his job.
One of those wins really, really needs to be bringing back 3-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum — an outcome that seems on shaky ground after 1 recent report.
“(The Ravens) have tried to negotiate with (Linderbaum),” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on Monday. “His agent is very difficult to negotiate with. Neil Cornrich is the agent and his method is basically not responding.”
That’s not a great place to be in for the Ravens. Especially not with a litany of free agent predictions sending Linderbaum to Harbaugh and his new team, the New York Giants.
Spotrac currently predicts Linderbaum’s value on the open market to be in the range of a 4-year, $70.8 million contract, which would pay him approximately $17.7 million per year. Linderbaum just played the final season of his 4-year, $13.23 million rookie contract.
Even if Linderbaum — or his agent — already think they have their minds made up about his next destination, there is still probably 1 thing the Ravens could do in order to retain his services.
Record-Setting Offer Could Bring Linderbaum Back
If the Ravens want Linderbaum back, they could simplify things by offering him a 4-year, $73 million contract, to make him the highest-paid center in NFL history. It would surpass the 4-year, $72 million contract signed by Kansas City Chiefs center and 2-time Super Bowl champion Creed Humphrey before the 2024 season.
“Is new Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter really going to let a quality starting center walk out the door ahead of his first season?” The Athletic’s Daniel Popper wrote on Monday. “We will see. The Tyler Linderbaum sweepstakes might never even begin if he re-signs with Baltimore. Behind Linderbaum, the center market is top-heavy and lacking depth.”
Rare Center Who Became 1st Round Pick
There aren’t many centers, ever, who have been first round picks in the NFL draft. Linderbaum is one of them, going No. 25 overall in 2022.
The 6-foot-2, 314-pound Iowa native dominated at the University of Iowa, where he was a 2-time All-Big Ten pick and was at his very best in his final season, winning the Rimington Trophy, earning All-American honors and being named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Headed into the 2022 NFL draft, NFL draft analyst/guru/shaman/expert Lance Zierlein compared Linderbaum to future Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Kelce.
“Teams with certain size standards might pass on him but his tenacity and talent make him a can’t-miss prospect if matched in the right scheme,” Zierlein wrote in 2022.
Giants Seem Like Perfect Fit for Linderbaum
The Giants have a young roster filled with talent and seem destined for a breakthrough season in 2026. Linderbaum would be invaluable there, and possibly draw a similar contract to Humphrey’s, because he would provide veteran leadership and stability on offense with second-year quarterback in Jaxson Dart.
“TheGiants are very unlikely to make it work with their current cap space (although rookie QB contract makes more possible),” Bengal YouTube wrote on its official X account. “But if there was ever a free agent who lined up with a huge need for theGiants…Tyler Linderbaum would make a ton of sense.”