tyler linderbaum
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Las Vegas Raiders center Tyler Linderbaum.
As free agency neared, there was a lot of speculation that the Las Vegas Raiders were planning to make former Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum a massive offer. There was a lot of interest in the Pro Bowler, so the Raiders had to outbid a lot of teams.
They ended up giving him a contract that pays him $27 million a year, which is the biggest contract for an interior offensive lineman ever. He’s making $9 million more a year than the second-highest-paid center.
While he’s more valuable to the Raiders than a lot of other teams due to the offense that head coach Klint Kubiak runs, not everybody thought the contract was a good idea. According to Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, the Raiders overpaid for Linderbaum.
“To be clear, Linderbaum is one of the best centers in the game—the 25-year-old has been to the Pro Bowl each of the past three years,” Davenport wrote. “The Raiders badly needed to improve the offensive line. And bad teams often have to a pay a premium to attract marquee free agents.
“But the Raiders didn’t just make Linderbaum the highest-paid center in the league. They blew the market at the position out of the water.”
Did Raiders Overpay Linderbaum?
Sometimes, the nature of free agency is overpaying for top players. It’s rare that a player of Linderbaum’s caliber actually makes it to free agency. The Ravens wanted to bring him back, but the price proved too high.
Davenport can understand why the Raiders wanted Linderbaum, but can’t get on board with the price.
“Before this year, there were two centers in the NFL who had average annual salaries in excess of $15 million. None made $20 million a year. Less than 10 centers make as much per season as the gap between Linderbaum and the NFL’s second-highest paid center (Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs),” Davenport wrote. “Linderbaum isn’t just the highest-paid center in the league. He’s the highest-paid interior lineman overall. And there are only five offensive tackles who make more per year.
“There’s resetting the market. And then there’s blowing it to smithereens.”
Raiders Not Likely to Regret Linderbaum Deal
The only time an overpay hurts is if the player doesn’t make an impact. Linderbaum should be a massive upgrade at center for the Raiders.
Las Vegas arguably had the worst offensive line in the NFL. They led the league in sacks allowed and were last in rushing yards. By simply adding Linderbaum, the Raiders’ entire offensive line should be better.
Plus, he’s only 25. He could be the team’s starting center for another decade if he stays healthy. There are investments that don’t make much sense a lot of the time, but this was a logical move for the Raiders to make.
They wouldn’t have paid Linderbaum $27 million a year if there weren’t other teams offering similar deals. If he’s still a Pro Bowl player, the Raiders aren’t going to regret paying him so much. The offense should be better in multiple ways with him securing the middle of the offensive line.