MARCH 1: As ESPN’s Dan Graziano notes, many observers imagine Linderbaum will manage to surpass $20MM per 12 months on his next contract. Whether or not the Ravens’ top offer is that useful stays to be seen, and in any case it could possibly be surpassed by outside bids soon provided Linderbaum reaches free agency.
FEBRUARY 24: Except for lowering Lamar Jackson‘s cap charge for 2026, the Ravens’ No. 1 priority is retaining Tyler Linderbaum. The highest pending free agent at the middle position (and plenty of others) is in line for an enormous raise no matter where it comes from.
Baltimore made the expected move of declining Linderbaum’s fifth-year option last spring, organising the necessity for a long-term pact to be worked out ahead of free agency. When talking to reporters on the Mix on Tuesday, general manager Eric DeCosta made one other unsurprising announcement by stating (via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic) the transition and franchise tags is not going to be in play on this case. Tags group all O-linemen together for valuation purposes, making them feasible for tackles but rare within the case of interior blockers.
That leaves a long-term commitment as the trail forward with respect to Linderbaum, who’s open to re-signing. DeCosta has been clear a few mutual desire existing for a brand new pact, and on Tuesday he made a notable but not unexpected revelation. The Ravens have submitted a “market-setting” offer to Linderbaum’s camp, DeCosta said (h/t Zrebiec). The highest of the middle market reached $18MM per 12 months when Creed Humphrey signed his Chiefs extension in 2024.
The NFL’s salary cap saw one other jump after that pact was signed, and a surge past $300MM is predicted when the 2026 figure is finalized. That leaves Linderbaum as an obvious candidate to surpass Humphrey by way of AAV. The Chiefs Pro Bowler secured over $50MM in latest guarantees on his extension, with $35MM of that figure fully guaranteed at signing. It could stand to reason Baltimore’s latest offer surpasses each of those figures, but further details on the Linderbaum negotiations might be price awaiting in any event.
Daniel Faalele has operated because the Ravens’ starting right guard for every of the past two years, but he’s a pending free agent. The team could also look to upgrade from left guard Andrew Vorhees as a starter, so losing Linderbaum on the open market would go away open the opportunity of three replacements being sought out this spring. Baltimore will look to avoid such a scenario, however it stays to be seen if the continuing efforts to work out a deal might be sufficient to succeed in an agreement.