The Baltimore Ravens have lost out on center Tyler Linderbaum, who has signed a massive three-year deal.
At long last, the news has been delivered on center Tyler Linderbaum. Following the news that the Baltimore Ravens offered a "market-setting" deal, the Las Vegas Raiders have now given the center a historic contract.
Linderbaum has now landed a three-year, $81 million deal, paying him $27 million per season. There is also $60 million of the contract guaranteed.
This $27 million per season is the most ever given to a center/guard in the NFL.
The highest-paid center was the Kansas City Chiefs' center, Creed Humphrey. He was making $18 million per season, which has now been blown wide open by the deal for Linderbaum.
Clearly, the Raiders were willing to go all-in, especially if they are set to draft Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick. Protecting the upcoming rookie was a top priority and have done so with bringing in Linderbaum.
The Ravens were hoping to bring back the stalwart lineman, but they clearly did not want to pay that high for Linderbaum. This move clearly will loom large for Baltimore heading into the draft.
At No. 14 overall, the Ravens have been mocked to land LSU's Francis Mauigoa and Penn State's Vega Ioane. Both are highly-rated, but neither has placed center.
Mauigoa has been asked to play guard and has expressed being open to that. The Ravens will need to find a replacement for Linderbaum, even after the signing of John Simpson.
The issue with also losing Linderbaum is that the center market has already been plenty busy.
Tyler Biadasz signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, Garrett Bradbury was traded to the Chicago Bears, and the Buffalo Bills re-signed Connor McGovern.
Baltimore has missed out on multiple possible replacements, though there is no telling if general manager Eric DeCosta made offers to any of those players.
Free agency always comes with significant hurdles, especially when teams with the most cap space, like the Raiders, can pay a lot more for quality players. Linderbaum deserves the money he received, but the loss might be one of the most difficult aspects of this period for the Ravens.
The league year begins officially on March 11, and the Ravens may have to pull off a blockbuster trade to replace the talent they just lost in Linderbaum.