Jesse Minter, Baltimore Ravens
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New Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter is introduced during a news conference at Under Armour Performance Center Baltimore Ravens on January 29, 2026 in Owings Mills, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Entering the 2026 NFL offseason, the Baltimore Ravens have already shown that they’re going to be aggressive in pursuing a Super Bowl run.
On Friday night, the Ravens pulled off a massive blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby. That was the first step of the offseason, but there is more work to do in order to make their championship dreams become a reality.
With free agency about to begin, the future of star center Tyler Linderbaum remains a major question mark.
Linderbaum is one of the best free agents available on the market. Baltimore would like to keep him in town, but there is going to be a lot of competition for his services.
Keeping that in mind, ESPN has revealed a prediction about where he could end up.
ESPN Reveals Brutal NFL Free Agency Prediction for Ravens
Dan Graziano of ESPN has predicted that Linderbaum will end up signing with the Chicago Bears. That prediction was made before the Bears made a trade with the New England Patriots for Garrett Bradbury.
“This would be an average salary of $22.5 million per year, which would blow the top off the center market,” Graziano wrote.
“Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey is currently the highest-paid center at $18 million per year. But by hitting unrestricted free agency at age 25 in an offseason with a ton of teams looking for starting centers and guards, Linderbaum should cash in big-time thanks to a bidding war between multiple teams.”
Obviously, the idea of Chicago signing Linderbaum seems unlikely at this point in time. However, there are plenty of teams around the NFL who would love to steal him away from the Ravens.
As for the potential contract projection, Graziano has suggested a deal worrth around $90 million over the course of four years with $60 million guaranteed.
Baltimore Has Been Heavily Connected to Wide Receiver Market
Linderbaum will be a top priority for Baltimore when free agency begins. It will be interesting to see if the Ravens are able to bring him back or if another team steals him away.
Another need the team will need to address comes at the wide receiver position.
DeAndre Hopkins is set to become a free agent after just one season with Baltimore. The Ravens will need to replace him. Mike Evans has been a name rumored to be of interest.
Baltimore cannot afford to hold back. After making the trade for Crosby, it’s time for the Ravens to get more aggressive than they have been in a long time. Bringing in an elite No. 1 weapon for Lamar Jackson should be near the top of their wish list.