According to Jason La Canfora, the Ravens have been preparing for the possibility that they will lose C Tyler Linderbaum in free agency this year.
Because of how the franchise tag is calculated, the Ravens are unlikely to franchise Linderbaum, meaning he has a path to maximizing his value on the open market if Baltimore can’t lock him up with an extension first.
La Canfora also notes the Ravens have historically not spent top dollar on centers and a league source indicated there’s some internal medical concern about Linderbaum.
La Canfora says the Ravens are eyeing Bills C Connor McGovern, also a pending free agent, as a potential alternative to Linderbaum.
The Chargers and Giants have emerged as two teams expected to hotly pursue Linderbaum and there will probably be others, as he’s one of the top free agents set to be available this year.
Linderbaum, 25, was a three-year starter at Iowa and earned first-team All-American honors in 2021 and 2020, to go along with a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2021, second-team All-Big Ten in 2020, and an honorable mention in 2019.
The Ravens used the No. 25 overall pick on him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was entering the final year of a four-year, $13,238,286 contract that included a $6,807,844 signing bonus when the Ravens declined his fifth-year option, projected to be worth $23.4 million fully guaranteed for the 2026 season.
Linderbaum is slated to be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
In 2025, Linderbaum appeared in all 17 games for the Ravens and started all 17 games at center. Pro Football Focus had him graded as the No. 4 center out of 37 qualifying players.
We have him included in our Top 100 2026 Free Agents list.
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