Jamison HensleyFeb 26, 2026, 06:00 AM ET

CloseJamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Last offseason, the Baltimore Ravens kept left tackle Ronnie Stanley from reaching free agency even though he was expected to draw a lot of interest from other teams.

Can Baltimore stop its top free agent from hitting the open market again?

Ravens general manger Eric DeCosta announced at the NFL combine on Tuesday that the team has made a strong push to retain Tyler Linderbaum, saying Baltimore has given the Pro Bowl center a “market-setting offer.” Linderbaum is ranked by ESPN’s Matt Bowen as the third-best player available in free agency, in which the negotiation period begins March 9.

“He’s proven to be, in my opinion, the best center in the league,” DeCosta said. “We’ve had conversations since the end of the season … and hopefully we can get something done with him between now and the start of the new league year.”

“He’s proven to be, in my opinion, the best center in the league,” Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said of Linderbaum. Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire

A market-setting offer would indicate the Ravens gave a proposal that tops Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey‘s, the NFL’s highest-paid center at $18 million per season. Humphrey signed a four-year, $72 million extension in 2024.

If Linderbaum doesn’t accept the deal, he would likely reach free agency in a couple of weeks. DeCosta said Baltimore probably would not use the franchise tag, which is a steep $27.9 million for all offensive linemen.

Linderbaum, 25, has become one of the most decorated blockers in Baltimore, making the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons. The only Ravens offensive linemen who have reached more Pro Bowls are Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden (11) and guard Marshal Yanda (eight), who was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.

“I think he knows how we feel about him and that we’d love to have him back,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. “He’s a major piece of our offense. I think he fits really well into the direction our offense is headed.”

If the Ravens can re-sign Linderbaum, it would represent a big step in fortifying an offensive line that struggled to protect Lamar Jackson last season. Since being a first-round pick by the Ravens in 2022, Linderbaum has the second-best pass block win rate at center (96.2%), which ranks only behind Humphrey (97.9%).

Baltimore could put its focus in upgrading at both guard spots, where Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees struggled last season. They allowed a combined 11 sacks.

DeCosta is excited about the potential of two draft picks from last year, Emery Jones Jr. and Carson Vinson. Heading into free agency and the draft, DeCosta also mentioned that he has to get a sense for the kind of players that new offensive line coach and run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford wants.

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Last season, Jackson was sacked on a 9.8% of his dropbacks, which was the highest rate of his eight-year career.

“Honestly, I’ve said some of our worst years in Baltimore is when we had some struggles on the offensive line or got beat up,” said Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz, who was with the Ravens from 1998 to 2023.

Linderbaum, who was the first center ever drafted in the first round by the Ravens, stabilized the position for Baltimore. Before Linderbaum, Baltimore had five starting centers in nine seasons: Gino Gradkowski (2013), Jeremy Zuttah (2014 to 2016), Ryan Jensen (2017), Matt Skura (2018 to 2020) and Bradley Bozeman (2021).

If Linderbaum returns, he would become the first to start more than four seasons at center since Mike Flynn (2001 to 2005 and 2007).

“[The center] is a guy that certainly can control a lot of the communication with the offensive line, see fronts [and] help the quarterback,” Minter said. “Those guys can work in tandem sometimes [with] seeing blitzes, protections and run schemes. So yes, in any offense, I would say that’s a major position.”

It was a year ago when the Ravens were in a similar position with Stanley, who would have been one of the top free agents that offseason. But Baltimore signed Stanley to a three-year, $60 million contract two days before the start of the negotiation period in free agency.

The Ravens are looking to make another sizable investment in the offensive line with Linderbaum.

“We’ve always been a team that has valued the importance of ‘the trenches’ and being up front,” DeCosta said. “[That is] just one of the reasons why we want to bring Tyler back, if we can.”