Three seasons ago, the Baltimore Ravens had one of the best first rounds in franchise history. With pick number 14 in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. An hour later, the team executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills that awarded the Ravens the 25th pick. With that pick the Ravens selected Tyler Linderbaum, a center from Iowa.
Kyle Hamilton has outperformed even the wildest expectations, earning two All-Pro honors in three seasons in the league. Linderbaum has been no bust either, making the Pro Bowl in two out of three seasons. with both players rookie contracts set to expire after the conclusion of next season, general manager Eric DeCosta had some decisions to make.
The final verdict came Wednesday evening. The Ravens have chose to pick up safety Kyle Hamilton’s fifth-year option in ‘one of the easiest’ decision.
Tyler Linderbaum, however, was not as lucky. The team announced that they would not be exercising the center’s fifth-year extension. Linderbaum will be a free agent in 2026.
Regardless of teh verdict, DeCosta has announced that he would like to see both players in Baltimore for many years to come.
“We are exercising the fifth-year option for Kyle Hamilton, with the goal of working toward a multi-year contract extension,” DeCosta said in a statement released by the team. “While we will not apply the fifth-year option to Tyler Linderbaum, it is our intention for him to remain a Baltimore Raven long term.”
Contract Concerns Preventing The Ravens From Inking Tyler Linderbaum
Linderbaum is inarguably one of the best centers in the national Football League. It is because of this success that his fifth-year price tag is so high. If the option was picked up, Linderbaum’s 2026 contract would have been north of $23 million. This well out paces a typical center contract in the league, and would have made him $5 million richer than the leagues highest paid center.
“In many ways, the 25-year-old Linderbaum is a victim of his success since the fifth-year option values are impacted by Pro Bowl berths and playing time,” wrote The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. “Linderbaum has made two Pro Bowl teams on the original ballot, so the cost of his fifth-year option rises to the price of the franchise tag at his position from the previous year.”
Another qualm to the fifth-ear option is that the money becomes immediately guaranteed, where in a franchise tag or regular extension has more flexibility. Linderbaum himself is not concerned with meddling in offseason negotiations, however.
““I’m just focused on just becoming as good of a football player as I can be for this team, just coming in here every day and putting my best foot forward, and let all the other things take care of itself,” Linderbaum said. “I’m really not even focused on that right now. That’s why we have agents. Neil Cornrich will handle that all for me, and like I said, I’m giving my all to the team right now, and that’s my focus, and that’s how it should be.”
Kyle Hamilton Contract Details
Hamilton earned himself a nice pay day. He is now contracted through the end of the 2026/27 season and his fifth year comes at the price tag of a fully guaranteed $18.6 million. Like his teammate, Hamilton is not concerning himself with negotiations.
“”I haven’t had too many talks about it to be honest,” Hamilton said. “If it happens this offseason, cool, but I’m not in a rush to get it done necessarily.”
