Tyler Linderbaum Among Top 5 in Free Agent Rankings
Tyler Linderbaum is one of the best centers in the NFL, and he’ll be paid like it this offseason.
Linderbaum, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, was ranked No. 4 on The Ringer’s Austin Gayle’s list of the top 40 players set to hit free agency.
“Linderbaum will be a coveted center because he moves extremely well, especially as a run blocker,” Gayle wrote. “He has unlocked so much for the Ravens’ run game because he’s an extremely talented athlete with foot speed and balance that are rare at his position. He can pull, scoop, and reach with his arms, and he is lightning quick to get to the second level on his feet, where he regularly beats linebackers and safeties because of his leverage and positioning alone.
“He’s also a menace when moving in space and blocking in front of screens. Linderbaum was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl this season, and he’s ranked eighth or better among qualifying centers in PFF’s run-blocking grade every year of his career.”
The Ravens didn’t pick up Linderbaum’s fifth-year option, but General Manager Eric DeCosta made it clear that signing him to a contract extension is the goal.
“I expect that Baltimore will get a deal done with Linderbaum well before March, but until it does, he deserves to be high on this list,” Gayle wrote.
The other Ravens player in the rankings was tight end Isaiah Likely at No. 27.
“Likely is a rare athlete and only 25 years old, but he just hasn’t been consistent enough to warrant the monster multi-year extension many expected would be coming for him,” Gayle wrote. “Baltimore re-signed 30-year-old veteran tight end Mark Andrews to a three-year, $39.3 million extension in early December, possibly signaling that Likely will test the market in March.”
