The Baltimore Ravens choosing not to pick up the fifth-year option in starting center Tyler Linderbaum’s rookie contract has prompted one analyst to urge the NFL to “revisit” the obscure rule that likely motivated the decision.
It’s a suggestion from ESPN’s Field Yates. He believes “the NFL should revisit the fact that the 5th-year option values are the same for all offensive linemen, rather than broken down by position (C/G/T).”
Yates believes this rule boxed the Ravens into a corner about a key member of their lineup. As he put it, “Tyler Linderbaum is one of the best centers in the league, but a fifth-year option value of $23.4M would have been $5.4M more than the highest-paid center in the league makes on average per year. I’m not sure lumping all the positions together helps the players or the teams in this case.”
It’s a compelling argument when the Ravens were almost forced to take a risk with the immediate future of a player who’s done little wrong since entering the pros as a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
The decision about Linderbaum’s contract was in stark contrast to the call the Ravens made about his fellow first-rounder. All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, the 14th pick three years ago, got his fifth year guaranteed, but Linderbaum has been made to wait.
Ravens Taking Risk With Tyler Linderbaum
Linderbaum is headed for free agency a year from now as things stand. That’s a situation of more than a little jeopardy for the Ravens, considering the 25-year-old has been a durable and competent presence over the ball.
The player the Ravens traded up then back to take with the 25th pick has started all but two games across three seasons. Linderbaum performed well enough during his debut campaign to earn seven votes in the AP Offensive Rookie of the year voting for ’22, per Pro Football Reference, while the former Iowa standout has since been named to back-to-back Pro Bowls.
One of the keys to Linderbaum’s success has been his natural chemistry with franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson. Specifically, Linderbaum understands Jackson’s dual-threat game and what the signal-caller’s talent for ad-libbing a broken play into something special demands of his blockers.
A signature example of the rapport between Jackson and Linderbaum earned the latter praise for his hustle from Yates’ colleague Benjamin Solak, who highlighted this play against the Cincinnati Bengals last season.
Watching the Lamar scramble.
Look at the effort from Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum (64). Stays active and fights for positioning the whole play without ever looking back. Ends up making a key block on Sam Hubbard.
That’s a guy who understands + has faith in his quarterback.
This level of effort, intelligence and physicality merits a new contract for Linderbaum. It’s a prospect that’s become more expensive for the Ravens thanks to the rule governing fifth-year options for offensive linemen.
Ravens Can’t Avoid Paying Up for Tyler Linderbaum
Not taking up the fifth-year option means the Ravens have exposed a key starter to a potential bidding war on the market. The risky choice has equipped Linderbaum with “so much leverage,” according to The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov, who thinks the fourth-year pro can become “the first-ever $20 million per year center in the NFL.”
Meirov believes the Ravens won’t be able to avoid paying Linderbaum record-setting money. The alternative would be to let one of the most-skilled players at his position in the league test the open market.
Linderbaum would have plenty of suitors, with at least one team surely prepared to pay him his worth. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta won’t ward off that danger without some kind of bumper and probably historic deal.
