Raiders free agency: Center Tyler Linderbaum worth the chase and coin

Henderson, Nev. – When Klint Kubiak accepted the Las Vegas Raiders’ head-coaching reins last month, he promised more than a fresh playbook. He pledged cohesion. Gone are the days of clashing voices between head coach, coordinator and line coach that doomed last season’s offense. In their place stands a unified Kubiak-Dennison axis that will install an Alex Gibbs-influenced zone-blocking attack and demand offensive-line choreography that begins with the snap.

To make the scheme sing, the Raiders need a maestro at center. League sources expect them to pursue the market’s crown jewel: Baltimore’s Tyler Linderbaum.

The 25-year-old Iowa product, drafted 25th overall in 2022, enters free agency Monday as the consensus top pivot. While the Ravens leaned on gap-power concepts, Linderbaum’s lateral quickness, wrestling-honed leverage and second-level vision project even better in a wide-zone system. Gibbs disciples prize athleticism, reach-blocking dexterity and synchronized line movement—traits Linderbaum flashed weekly in Baltimore while calling out protections and over-communicating to keep five bodies operating as one.

“His ability to gain outside position on a defender, wall him off and still climb to a linebacker is rare,” one AFC offensive-line coach told the Review-Journal. “Put him in a scheme that asks linemen to run, not just maul, and you’ll see an even higher gear.”

That upside will cost premium coin. Front-office projections have Linderbaum eclipsing the $20 million-per-year barrier and becoming the NFL’s highest-paid center, leapfrogging Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey ($18 M APY) and Philadelphia’s Cam Jurgens ($17 M APY). The Raiders currently own the cap space to compete, though competition will be stiff; the New York Giants, now led by former Ravens boss John Harbaugh, are expected to drive the bidding.

A fallback option resides in recently released Lloyd Cushenberry III. The 28-year-old started for Kubiak in Denver during the 2022 season, offering mobility and intelligence at roughly half the price. Cushenberry’s four-year, $50 million pact with Tennessee averaged $12.5 million and could shrink further on a short-term prove-it deal.

Las Vegas also holds in-house candidates. Second-round rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson awaits a clear positional home after last year’s staff shuffled him between center and guard. Restricted free agent Jordan Meredith and exclusive-rights player Will Putnam provide depth, yet neither profiles as a franchise anchor.

Kubiak and Dennison must decide whether to bet on upside or price. League insiders believe the answer is already etched on the whiteboard inside the Raiders’ facility: chase—and pay—Tyler Linderbaum.