The NFL’s franchise tag deadline has passed. Not only did the New York Jets place a tag on running back Breece Hall, but they also received important news regarding the players who were and were not tagged around the NFL.
One of the most notable non-tagged players? Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.
After speculation that the three-time Pro Bowl center could be tagged, he is now set to entertain offers on the open market.
The offensive line is not the Jets’ top need, but after a season in which they tied for the second-fewest offensive touchdowns in the NFL (26), they need offensive talent wherever they can find it. Armed with over $74 million in cap space, the Jets will surely check in on Linderbaum at the very least.
But should they go all-in on the former first-round pick?
After examining the evidence, that question boasts a clear answer.
Let’s unpack the Jets’ potential free agent pursuit of Linderbaum.
Understanding the Jets’ need at center
First and foremost, we need to understand how badly the Jets need help at center.
Josh Myers started all 17 games for the Jets at center in 2025. He was promoted to the spot after right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker suffered a season-ending injury just before the regular season, which prompted center Joe Tippmann to slide into Vera-Tucker’s right guard spot.
Myers was far from an abject disaster, which earned him a two-year, $11 million contract extension from the organization. However, only $6.2 million of that is guaranteed.
The modest total of guaranteed money reflects what the Jets view Myers as: a high-end backup.
That means they’re open to exploring upgrades in the starting lineup—as they should be, given Myers’ performance.
While Myers did a decent job for a projected backup who was forced to start 17 games, he was still a liability when compared against other starting centers. His 52.9 overall grade at Pro Football Focus ranked 33rd out of 34 qualified centers.
After a season in which their offense scored 26 touchdowns, the Jets would be silly to willingly walk into the season with a center who did not even rank among the top 32 players at his position last year.
Sure, the Jets have plenty of talent across the rest of the offensive line, but that does not diminish their need to upgrade the center position. As the saying goes, an offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link. A bottom-of-the-barrel center can undermine the talent of the rest of the unit.
New York needs help at center as much as any team in the NFL. That should place them squarely in the conversation for Linderbaum.
Linderbaum’s track record
One of the most touted center prospects in recent memory, Linderbaum was selected 25th overall by Baltimore in the first round of the 2022 draft. For a center, that is rarified air.
Across four years in the NFL, Linderbaum has displayed a consistent track record of durability and elite production. He has started 66 out of 68 regular season games and all five playoff games for Baltimore, earning trips to the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons.
Statistically, Linderbaum has been extremely reliable, providing top-five center play on a yearly basis. Here are Linderbuam’s overall grades at PFF:
- 2025: 80.2 (4th of 34)
- 2024: 78.1 (4th of 32)
- 2023: 78.3 (5th of 32)
- 2022: 74.7 (6th of 34)
When you have this type of production and durability at 25 years old, you have a strong case to deserve the biggest contract in the NFL at your position.
However, the Ravens and prospective suitors in free agency may be deterred by the makeup of Linderbaum’s production.
Unpacking Linderbaum’s game
While Linderbaum’s overall grades are consistently elite, his game has become somewhat one-sided over the past two seasons.
In 2025, Linderbaum’s 83.7 run-blocking grade placed fourth-best among centers, but his 63.4 pass-blocking grade was just 19th out of 34 qualifiers. His 26 allowed pressures were the fifth-most among centers.
This carried over from the 2024 season. That year, Linderbaum’s 82.5 run-blocking grade was third-best at the position, but his 65.7 pass-blocking grade was 13th.
Elite pass-blocking upside exists within Linderbaum. Back in 2023, his second season, his 76.1 pass-blocking grade was fourth-best at the position. That season stands out as an outlier in his four-year sample, though.
In a pass-happy, quarterback-centric league, pass protection takes precedence over run blocking in offensive linemen. Baltimore’s reluctance to tag or extend Linderbaum could be viewed as indictment of his pass protection.
Nobody can deny Linderbaum’s rare abilities as a run blocker, but should he be paid as the best center in the game if his pass protection is merely average? This is the question that NFL teams are grappling with as they prepare for free agency.
Jets scheme fit
As we broke down in our analysis of Frank Reich’s play-calling tendencies, the Jets’ new offensive coordinator loves to call inside zone and man/duo concepts in the run game.
Over his last two seasons as a head coach, Reich’s teams ran either inside zone or man/duo on about 62% of all rush attempts, way above the 46% NFL average. Outside zone, power, and counter take back seats in Reich’s offense.
Does Linderbaum have experience in that type of offense? Let’s find out.
Here is a look at where the Ravens ranked in total carries on inside zone-plus-man/duo across Linderbaum’s four seasons
Ravens’ total rush attempts on either inside zone or man/duo concepts (per FTN Fantasy):
- 2025: 152 (31st)
- 2024: 206 (13th)
- 2023: 208 (19th)
- 2022: 165 (28th)
The Ravens’ run-game approach fluctuated quite a bit during Linderbaum’s tenure. They relied extremely heavily on power and counter concepts in 2022 under offensive coordinator Greg Roman (league-high 182 attempts, triple the NFL average), which kicked inside zone and man/duo to the wayside a bit.
Then, they became more versatile after Todd Monken took over in 2023. From 2023-24, the Ravens had one of the most balanced run games in terms of concept tendencies, resulting in middle-of-the-pack rankings in inside zone and man/duo usage.
But in 2025, Monken turned the Ravens into a heavy outside zone team. They ranked second in the NFL in outside zone attempts (158), more than inside zone and man/duo combined (152).
Clearly, Linderbaum has plenty of experience in all different types of run schemes. Considering that he was an elite-level run blocker in all of them, the Jets don’t have to worry much about how he will fit in Reich’s offense, no matter what type of scheme Reich plans to run.
The verdict
The final verdict is clear: Yes, the Jets should aggressively pursue Linderbaum.
While Linderbaum’s so-so pass protection numbers are a concern, they are also a blessing in disguise. Without those, the Jets would not have the unique opportunity to land such a talented, reliable young player on the open market. You don’t get a chance to allocate your cap space on players of Linderbaum’s ilk quite often.
Sure, the pass-blocking numbers are unimpressive, but we know Linderbaum can be an elite pass protector. He was dominant in that phase in college and has shown flashes of that dominance in the NFL. At 25-going-on-26, better days could be ahead in that phase.
Context is key. It is entirely possible that Linderbaum’s shaky pass-blocking numbers in the NFL are a product of spending his entire career with a quarterback in Lamar Jackson who tends to hold onto the ball longer than most quarterbacks. In a different environment, Linderbaum’s pass-blocking numbers could blossom.
Even if Linderbaum remains the same player, he would be a massive boon for the Jets. He is arguably the best run-blocking center in the game, and, at worst, a slightly above-average pass protector. After all, his average ranking in pass-blocking grade over the past three seasons was 12th. That’s hardly a major weakness for a player who can plow three-lane highways in the run game.
Toss in his age and durability, and Linderbaum is about as pristine a free agent as you will see. Considering the Jets’ current starting center was rated 33rd among his peers last season, they should not miss the opportunity to pursue one of the league’s best players at this position.
Free agency often involves a great deal of risk. Most of these players are on the market because their former team did not trust them enough to extend them.
Linderbaum is a rare breed. There is very little risk at play here. He has been touted as a future star center since his college days, and has since provided four straight seasons of durability and elite play at the NFL level.
You can’t ask for a better player to invest in, especially when you have a need at the player’s position.
With Linderbaum added to a unit that already includes Olu Fashanu (23, first-round pick), Armand Membou (21, first-round pick), and Joe Tippmann (24, second-round pick), the Jets’ offensive line would instantly jump from “pretty good” to potentially one of the best units in football for years to come.
All signs point to a player who should be the Jets’ first call on March 9.
