The Ravens will remind everyone they agreed to the biggest trade in franchise history for one of the NFL’s best defensive players in Maxx Crosby just a few days ago.
But that didn’t prevent the start of free agency from feeling all too familiar with more players going elsewhere than joining Baltimore on Monday.
That list of departures was overwhelmingly headlined by three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, who agreed to a record-breaking three-year, $81 million contract with Las Vegas that includes $60 million guaranteed. The reported deal not only makes Linderbaum the highest-paid center in NFL history by a staggering margin, but the 25-year-old will also make the most money of any interior offensive lineman in the league in terms of average annual value.
Though the Ravens were bracing for the possibility of losing Linderbaum and were never going to obliterate the center market to the degree the Raiders did to keep him, the task of improving the offensive line becomes even more daunting without the anchor for their interior. A 2022 first-round pick out of Iowa, Linderbaum had been a Day 1 starter who missed just two games over his four seasons with the Ravens, but general manager Eric DeCosta’s decision not to exercise the $23.4 million fifth-year option for his star center last spring put this possibility in motion. The odds of an eventual exit only increased when the sides didn’t work out a long-term contract by last fall — like Baltimore was able to do with All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton — and Linderbaum completed a third Pro Bowl campaign.
After saying late last month that the Ravens had made a “market-setting offer” to Linderbaum, DeCosta declined to use the franchise tag that would have paid him $25.77 million for 2026. Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey had previously been the NFL’s highest-paid center after signing a four-year, $72 million contract two years ago when the salary cap was $45.8 million lower than the current $301.2 million.
It remains to be seen how the Ravens will go about replacing Linderbaum, especially considering the high volume of movement at the center position around the league prior to his massive agreement with the Raiders. Of course, the Ravens no longer have a first-round pick in next month’s draft after trading for Crosby and won’t pick until 45th overall. One remaining veteran option at center would be two-time Pro Bowl selection Elgton Jenkins, a 30-year-old who was released by Green Bay Monday after missing the end of last season with a fractured lower leg.
The top center on Baltimore’s current roster is Corey Bullock, a 2024 undrafted free agent out of Maryland who’s played just 13 offensive snaps in his NFL career.
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DeCosta was able to bring back a familiar face at the guard position by agreeing to a three-year, $30 million contract with veteran John Simpson. A starter for the 2023 Ravens who went on to sign a two-year, $18 million deal with the New York Jets two years ago, the returning Simpson now appears set to replace Andrew Vorhees as the starting left guard.
For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus graded the 6-foot-4, 330-pound Simpson 51st among qualified NFL guards while Vorhees graded 59th and right guard Daniel Faalele ranked 52nd out of 79 guards. Simpson graded 11th out of 77 qualified guards by PFF in 2024, which was easily the best mark of his career.
Outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones was the most notable Baltimore defensive player to depart in the opening hours of free agency after he agreed to a reported three-year, $39 million contract with New England. Acquired at last year’s trade deadline, the 29-year-old Jones appeared questionable to return even before the Ravens agreed to send 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to the Raiders for Crosby over the weekend, which made his departure a foregone conclusion.
Of course, none of Monday’s reported free-agent agreements can be made official until after the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. Wednesday, which leaves any moves subject to change.
Tight end exodus
Change appeared inevitable after all three Ravens tight ends entered the 2025 campaign in contract years, and Mark Andrews is now the only one remaining in Baltimore.
8As expected after Andrews signed a three-year, $39.3 million extension in early December, No. 2 tight end Isaiah Likely departed by agreeing to a three-year, $40 million deal to follow ex-Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to the New York Giants. The Ravens also lost top blocking tight end Charlie Kolar, who agreed to a three-year, $24.3 million contract that includes $17 million guaranteed with the Los Angeles Chargers.
It’s hardly a secret that Baltimore had pursued an extension with Likely last summer — seemingly preferring him over Andrews at the time — before he suffered a fractured foot early in training camp and missed the first three games of 2025, a development that led to a disappointing season that included career lows in catches (27), receiving yards (307), and touchdowns (one). The inability to work out an extension with Likely prompted the Ravens to pivot to re-signing Andrews, which all but sealed the former’s free-agent fate by the conclusion of last season.
Despite having just 30 career catches to his name, Kolar’s development as a blocker proved to be valuable to other suitors and earned him just over $8 million per season with the Chargers.
Given the organization’s propensity for drafting tight ends and doing so in bunches, it’s safe to say the Ravens will be examining this year’s draft class closely.
Closing the book on the 2022 fourth round
Linderbaum, Likely, and Kolar weren’t the only members of the Ravens’ 2022 draft class to find a new home Monday as All-Pro punter Jordan Stout will join Harbaugh and former Ravens special teams coordinator Chris Horton in New York.
According to ESPN, Stout became the league’s highest-paid punter by agreeing to a three-year, $12.3 million deal with the Giants. The fourth-round pick out of Penn State enjoyed a career year in 2025 — leading the NFL in net punting and finishing fourth in gross average — that led many to assume the Ravens would re-sign him, but Stout getting to the open market changed those expectations. While one can understand the Ravens not wanting to pay that much, it’s a disappointing development after they invested an early Day 3 pick in a punter — which some questioned at the time — and didn’t reap much benefit for doing so until this past season.
Though Faalele remained unsigned entering Monday evening, the pending departures of Likely, Kolar, and Stout all but close the book on the unprecedented six fourth-round picks the Ravens made in the 2022 draft. Cornerbacks Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams were Baltimore’s other fourth-round selections that year and were waived at the end of the 2025 and 2024 preseasons respectively.
