One Free-Agent the Giants Must Let Someone Else Overpay

The New York Giants have needs, and some of those needs can be filled in free agency. The question for this team is: how much are you willing to pay, and what will it truly cost you to acquire that talent?

John Harbaugh has made it no secret that he wants to be a playoff team in 2026. That is going to require them to upgrade at several positions and fill holes that they currently have.

There are some tremendous talents in free agency this season, but not only will they cost, but they may actually cost the Giants more than other teams. Because the Giants have not been a winning organization over the past four seasons, they are not exactly a free agent destination.

To convince players—who not only want to get paid, but want to have an opportunity to hoist the Lombardi trophy—that they should sign with the Giants, you would have to convince them that it's financially worth taking the risk of signing with Big Blue.

This is where the Giants will likely have to overpay free agents to sign them. While they are in a position where now is the time to overpay for talent (with rookies at key expensive positions still on their initial deals), there are players who just don't make sense to overreach for.

While everyone believes that the Giants need an upgrade at center, Tyler Linderbaum would be one of those free agents not worth overpaying for in free agency.

The reason to add Linderbaum is questionable

Jun 10, 2025; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum (64) looks on during an NFL OTA at Under Armour Performance Center. | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Much of the discussion around signing Linderbaum centers on his familiarity with Harbaugh, but that doesn't account for his familiarity with this offense.

This is not the offense Greg Roman ran when he was with the Ravens, nor is it even the offense that was run last season.

According to Harbaugh, this will be a brand-new offense created specifically for the Giants, drawing on the past experiences of offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, run game coordinator Greg Roman, and pass game coordinator Brian Callahan.

That three-headed monster will try to instill an offense that takes advantage of all of their unique abilities and lends itself to the talent in New York.

Lindenbaum will need to learn this offense the same way as any other center would need to learn this offense. He would not come in at an advantage just because he is familiar with Harbaugh and Greg Roman.

How much better is Lindenbaum than Schmitz?

Sep 7, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61) runs onto the field prior to the game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Yes, Lindenbaum is better. We don't have to argue that point; he has been a more consistent performer over his career.

However, he has also benefited from being allowed to block for one of the most elusive quarterbacks in football history.

When you look at John Michael Schmitz's improvements over the last three seasons, it is not surprising that his performance increased once Jackson Dart (a guy who can escape like Lamar Jackson) entered at quarterback.

Lindenbaum is an undersized center. He is undersized at a position that is normally undersized in the NFL. He's smaller than Schmitz, and while he has been a better run blocker, in 2025, he allowed 26 pressures, almost double the amount of pressures in pass blocking than Schmitz.

Yes, Lindenbaum is a Pro Bowl center and considered a top-five talent, but Schmitz has been ascending, and his best seasons could be ahead of him.

There are other options in free agency and the draft

Jan 30, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; AFC center Tyler Linderbaum of the Baltimore Ravens during the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge at Nicholson Fieldhouse. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

If we're to believe that Lindenbaum is going to set the market for interior offensive linemen and, more specifically, centers, then everybody else who plays the position will garner less money than he does.

That means other top-tier free-agent centers, like 28-year-old former Tennessee Titan Lloyd Cushenberry or 33-year-old Detroit Lions vet Graham Glasgow, will be cheaper options. Former Seahawks and Browns center Ethan Pocic is atop a group of established starters that will garner lots of interest but will not come with a crippling price tag.

All of that is before you get into the draft, where there are a lot of talented potential starters that will be waiting to hear their name called on day three because of positional value in the draft. The Giants could choose that as a cheaper route and create competition at the position for Schmitz.

Reports indicate that the Commanders and Raiders will bid for Lindenbaum's services. Vegas has the deepest pockets in terms of cap space, and those two teams will definitely not be alone.

The Giants are not beating anyone out if it comes down to money alone. They just don't have the space, and if they did use their limited cap space to add the high-profile center, what about everything else? This is just not the position that the Giants need to go all-in on. Better to let someone else overpay.

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