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The Las Vegas Raiders need to improve their offensive line, and they have roughly $87.8 million in cap space to spend this offseason, according to Spotrac. With the Silver and Black projected to take former Indiana Hoosiers, having him protected is vital.
Free agency looks to be the ideal place for the Raiders to find a player or two to bolster the offensive line that gave up 64 sacks last season, per StatMuse. So, with so much money to spend, who could Las Vegas go after? The top offensive lineman on the market as free agency approaches is Baltimore Ravens‘ Tyler Linderbaum.
On Feb. 18, The Athletic’s Daniel Popper published his article on the contract projections for the top free agents this offseason, including Linderbaum. As for the center, Popper projects the 26-year-old to get a four-year, $71 million contract.
“Linderbaum, a 2022 first-round pick, is an athletic, versatile and powerful run blocker,” Popper wrote. “He takes great angles and is very capable on the move on outside-zone runs, as a puller and in the screen game.
“Though he is not an elite pass protector, Linderbaum shows the eyes and instincts necessary to identify stunts and deceptive movement along the defensive front.
“Linderbaum can give up some ground in pass protection when rushers get into his chest, and he is not always consistent with his initial strike. But he is more than functional in that phase, and his run blocking is among the best in the league.”
Raiders Urged to Throw the Bag at Tyler Linderbaum
PFF gave Linderbaum an 80.2 overall grade for the 2025 season. He recorded a 63.4 pass-blocking grade, good for 22nd among the 40 eligible centers, and an 83.7 run-blocking grade, which puts him fourth among the 40 eligible centers.
As a result, former Raiders offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy recently stated that Las Vegas need to do whatever it takes to land Linderbaum in free agency.
“I’m throwing a bag of money at Tyler Linderbaum,” Kennedy said on the Feb. 3 edition of “Raiders Squad Show.” “I’m throwing a ton of money. What do you need? Tell me a check that will make you happy to come over for Raiders. That’s just a start, right? But there are plenty of guys out there that I would definitely look at, and I have no problem with accepting and throwing a ton of money out there.”
Colin Cowherd Expresses Concern for Fernando Mendoza
Meanwhile, the Raiders’ potential failure to put the right pieces in place for Mendoza to succeed is what concerns FS1’s Colin Cowherd.
“I look at Caleb Williams, his first year, hit all sorts of sacks and negative plays,“ Cowherd said on the Feb. 16 edition of “The Herd.” “Why would that be? Because his coach stunk. I don’t worry about Fernando Mendoza. I worry about the Raiders as his parent in this league.
“Bad offensive line. Even if Klint Kubiak is a good coach, he’ll probably be the fourth‑best coach in his division. Ownership is impulsive and ridiculously impatient. I don’t have a Mendoza issue. I have a Mendoza‑to‑the‑Raiders issue.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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