The Seattle Seahawks are world champions, having handily defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX behind an offensive line that was the best group the team had fielded in a long time.
However, in spite of the on-field success of the Seahawks, several fans had expressed hope that John Schneider and Mike Macdonald might be in the market to upgrade the interior of the offensive line. Specifically, many had expressed hope that Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum could be a target of the team in free agency, potentially to replace Jalen Sundell.
Well, it did not take long for Linderbaum to explore his market in free agency, and on Monday afternoon NFL insider for ESPN Adam Schefter reported that Linderbaum had completely blown the top off the center market in agreeing to join Klint Kubiak with the Las Vegas Raiders thanks to an absolutely massive contract.
Prior to Linderbaum’s deal, the highest paid center in the NFL had been Creed Humphrey, whose four-year, $96M deal checked in at $19M per year. That mark has now been far surpassed, as Linderbaum’s $27M per year is a whopping 42% higher. It should be obvious to most that the Seahawks, whose current offensive line is entirely home grown, would have been nowhere near that market.
