Baltimore Ravens star center Tyler Linderbaum is in line for a new extension this offseason, and with two Pro Bowl selections in his first three seasons, he will most likely become one of the league's highest-paid players at his position.
In the meantime, though, the Ravens have been fairly busy along the offensive line this offseason.
The big move was, of course, re-signing left tackle Ronnie Stanley to a three-year, $60 million deal. Stanley was expected to be the best offensive tackle in free agency this offseason, but the Ravens not only re-signed him before he could hit the market, but did so at a great value as well.
When Linderbaum heard the news, he was pretty happy to say the least.
"It's awesome to have Ronnie back, a player at his caliber, playing at a really high level," Linderbaum told reporters Monday. "He helps our team out tremendously, so I'm excited to have him back. ... Obviously, there'll be pieces that we'll add, but we have the foundation. Now, we just got to keep building off of that."
On the other hand, the Ravens lost starting left guard Patrick Mekari, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. While it is a bit sad to see his left-hand man (literally) go, Linderbaum is very much happy for Mekari as he begins this new chapter
"I'm excited for him. Obviously, it's going to be a little different without him. He's helped me tremendously my first three years, but I know he is going to kill it down there [in Jacksonville], so I'm super happy for him."
At the very least, the Ravens won't have to overhaul their offensive line in the same way they did last year. Four of five starters are still around, so they have a chance to build on last year's success.
"I think whoever's in there has to play ... No matter what, we're expecting to play at a high level," Linderbaum said. "Obviously, having 'Rog' [Roger Rosengarten] step in and play at a high level like he did last year, it was super big for us. Especially being a rookie, that's not an easy thing to do, and especially [playing against] the guys in our division. I'm super proud of him, and obviously, those guys who played their first year, we have to expect another big jump, and the guys who have been playing have to take another step."
"Anytime you can get more reps together, I think the better off you're going to be, but at the end of the day, the five guys that are out there have to be playing at a high level to make things to go."
