Tyler Linderbaum might be at the top of the New York Giants’ NFL free agency wish list as they aim to upgrade in the trenches. Getting him, though, is not going to be easy. “Everybody” wants Linderbaum, according to NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
“I love my job, but if I could switch jobs for just the next couple months I’d want to be Tyler Linderbaum’s agent,” Jeremiah said Thursday on a pre-NFL Scouting Combine call with media. ‘Everybody that I talk to seems to be in on Tyler Linderbaum. It sounds like he’s going to have a robust market.“
Linderbaum, of course, was the center for Giants coach John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens for the past four years. The 25th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Linderbaum was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three seasons.
Entering his age 26 season, Linderbaum is about to be a very rich young man. Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs is the league’s highest-paid center. He signed a four-year, $72 million contract, an average of $18 million per year.
Linderbaum’s contract, especially with a “robust market,” figures to equal or exceed that figure.
Do the Giants “need” Linderbaum badly enough to be willing to reset the center market financially? Perhaps not. John Michael Schmitz is a capable center who has improved in each of his first three seasons.
Linderbaum, though, would be an upgrade. Harbaugh, who has said consistently that continuing to upgrade the talent on both the offensive and defensive lines is a must for the Giants, might be willing to do whatever it takes to get the player who orchestrated his offensive line in Baltimore.
Is Linderbaum worth the biggest contract ever given to a center, Giants fans?
