NFL free agency is right around the corner and the LA Chargers have a lot of money to spend. The Chargers have $83.5 million in projected cap space after a salary cap bump in 2026. It's the third-highest projected mark among all NFL teams.
Of all potential free-agent targets, Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum continues to stick out as an obvious fit. The Baltimore Ravens declined Linderbaum's fifth-year rookie option despite him being one of the best young centers in the league.
From the outside looking in, it does not appear the Ravens have any interest in resetting the center market with Linderbaum's new deal. With almost four times as much projected cap space, the Chargers certainly have the means to do so.
And according to CBS Sports' lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, sources are already connecting Linderbaum to Jim Harbaugh's Chargers.
"That's amazing if you're a team with an All-Pro left tackle staring at free agency; it's less amazing if you're the Baltimore Ravens trying to retain center Tyler Linderbaum when the top of that market isn't even $20 million annually," Jones writes.
"Sources expect he would be a top target for the Chargers if Baltimore can't retain him."
Tyler Linderbaum would be a dream come true for the Chargers
Of course, nothing is official until the ink dries and Linderbaum being tied to the Chargers doesn't mean he is definitely joining the team. However, this is the first time this offseason Linderbaum has been explicitly tied to the team that makes the most sense for him.
The offensive line was a real issue for the Chargers last season, especially the center position. As promising as the NFL Draft can be, the Chargers need someone with experience who can control the offensive line much in the way Corey Linsley did in a short timeframe. It doesn't matter how great a center prospect is, they will take time to adjust to the NFL.
And this year doesn't have any home run centers worth banking on. Connor Lew is the best of the bunch, and while he would certainly be a good backup plan, it's hard to get behind him being plan A coming off a torn ACL.
Linderbaum has NFL experience and has played at the highest level. He is a back-to-back Pro Bowler who recorded the fifth-highest Pro Football Focus grade among centers last season. At 25 years old, it's not unreasonable to think that his best football is still ahead of him.
Baltimore may not want to reset the market with Linderbaum because of the team's financial situation, but that doesn't mean the Chargers shouldn't. Los Angeles already has the means to make it happen, and with more ways to create cap space, it becomes a true no-brainer.
The offensive line was atrocious last season but it has the real potential to be one of the best in the entire league with Linderbaum anchoring the middle. A healthy Rashawn Slater-Joe Alt tandem, plus Linderbaum, gives the Chargers the best young threesome on the offensive line in the entire NFL. All the team would have to do from there is fill left guard and right guard with competent options.
Cut Mekhi Becton, use that money to re-sign Rashawn Slater, and use a pick in the first two rounds on a right guard. Even if that right guard is mediocre his rookie season, there will be so much talent around him to make his life easier and improve his production as a result.
It all banks on getting a great center. Linderbaum is the best center available, so it makes sense that the Chargers are potentially interested. Hopefully, that rumored interest turns into something tangible.