{"id":254494,"date":"2025-11-13T14:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T19:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=254494"},"modified":"2025-11-13T06:06:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T11:06:30","slug":"ravens-tyler-linderbaum-contract-next-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/13\/ravens-tyler-linderbaum-contract-next-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Ravens Likely to Lose Franchise Cornerstone"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the game’s best centers in Tyler Linderbaum, but the impending free agent may not stick around beyond the 2025 season. Selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft<\/a>, the Iowa product made the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons and is well on his way to a third appearance. Centers may not be the most important position in football, but premier blockers will always earn a massive paycheck. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler<\/a>, the Ravens want to extend Linderbaum but don’t have the financial resources to make a competitive offer.<\/p>\n

Ravens, Tyler Linderbaum, Not Close In Contract Talks<\/h2>\n

As of this posting, Creed Humphrey is the NFL’s highest-paid center<\/a> with an $18 million per year average salary. Tyler Linderbaum will likely break this record, and the Ravens might not be able to match this type of offer. Baltimore has one of the most talented rosters in the league, and maintaining that type of talent isn’t cheap. Sacrifices need to be made, and if Linderbaum won’t take a team-friendly deal, he could end up with the following three organizations next year.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Sam Navarro – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. New England Patriots<\/h3>\n

The New England Patriots are 8-2 because they have the biggest competitive advantage in football: an MVP-caliber quarterback<\/a> on a rookie contract. Drake Maye is playing incredible football, and New England doesn’t have to pay him for years on end. This means they should go all-in on his rookie window, and that starts by building a complete offensive line.<\/p>\n

Head coach Mike Vrabel deserves all the credit in the world for rebuilding this unit overnight. After having the NFL’s worst blocking in 2024, offseason additions like Morgan Moses, Garrett Bradbury, and rookies Will Campbell<\/a> and Jared Wilson have solidified the unit. While Bradbury has been an adequate starter at center, he’s not a long-term fix and isn’t anything more than a league-average starter. Tyler Linderbaum is one of the best in the game and can anchor this offensive line for years to come, assuming the Ravens can’t re-sign him.<\/p>\n

\"Week
Nov 9, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws downfield under pressure from Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Anthony Nelson (98) during the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Los Angeles Chargers<\/h3>\n

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh believes games are won and lost in the trenches. Unfortunately, his current offensive line does not reflect that philosophy. Injuries decimated the unit, leaving quarterback Justin Herbert struggling to stay alive behind poor blocking. While the unit will improve with Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt healthy<\/a> next year, the interior needs some work.<\/p>\n

Statistically speaking, Bradley Bozeman is the NFL’s worst starting center, as his 48.2 PFF grade ranks 37th out of 37 eligible players. That’s not going to cut it for Harbaugh, so don’t be surprised if he tries to steal Tyler Linderbaum from the Baltimore Ravens. The former first-round pick can solidify the interior while allowing Bozeman to operate as a versatile backup at center and guard.<\/p>\n

\"\"
August 23, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh instructs against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

3. New York Jets<\/h3>\n

The New York Jets sold like crazy at the trade deadline and have the draft capital to get whichever quarterback they want in the 2026 NFL Draft. However, anyone who’s watched Sam Darnold this year knows that even the right quarterback won’t succeed in the wrong environment. The Jets must build a team that can support a young passer, and that starts with fixing the offensive line.<\/p>\n

Rookie Armand Membou<\/a> has been everything the team could have hoped for, but they must do something at the center position. Josh Myers is a below-average starter, and upgrading the position with someone like Tyler Linderbaum could do wonders for a rookie.<\/p>\n

\"Aaron
Nov 9, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn reacts after a Jets touchdown during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Ravens want to extend star center Tyler Linderbaum, but the two sides are reportedly far away in contract talks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":254495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,10,18,5,6],"tags":[7642,7638,8887],"class_list":["post-254494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-ravens","category-chargers","category-patriots","category-jets","tag-chargers-featured","tag-ravens-featured","tag-tyler-linderbaum"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254494"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254536,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254494\/revisions\/254536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}