NFL
Exclusive: Ravens Eye Alternative at Center as Tyler Linderbaum Poised for Big Free-Agent Payday
The Ravens are facing contract rejections with Tyler Linderbaum and are looking at Connor McGovern as a replacement due to salary cap constraints. Securing an established center is a priority with a new coordinator, and McGovern's experience and performance make him a suitable choice for the team.
NFL: DEC 14 Ravens at Bengals by Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
The Ravens have been unable to reach a contract extension with center Tyler Linderbaum, a former first-round pick who is poised to cash in big when free agency opens in March.
Badly in need of offensive line fortification, the Ravens are eyeing former Bills and Cowboys standout Connor McGovern as a replacement, with Linderbaum expected to land one of the more lucrative deals on the NFL open market.
Baltimore has been reticent to spend top dollar on a center for decades, and league sources indicated there have been some underlying medical concerns with Linderbaum, who has been a Pro Bowl player for them but is also undersized.
The Ravens are in a difficult salary cap position until or unless they renegotiate the deal of superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, making retaining Linderbaum even more remote.
Identifying A Replace Is Immediate Priority
Jackson has been accustomed to having a veteran center, and with a new, unproven offensive coordinator taking over in Declan Doyle, one who has never called plays before, securing an established center early in free agency is seen internally as a must.
McGovern has played at a steady level, has been well-liked in the locker room and with 94 regular-season appearances, and 78 starts, he would check a lot of boxes for a franchise that frankly has a lot of roster work to get done this offseason.
McGovern excelled in Buffalo with a super-mobile quarterback in Josh Allen, and would be a fit in Baltimore as well. He is coming off a three-year deal with the Bills worth about $7.5M and should fit the Ravens always-judicious approach to free agency.
Linderbaum is set to become one of the highest-paid interior offensive linemen in the game and will have no shortage of suitors in what is an overall tepid free agent class.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.