Texans Unlikely to Land Ravens' Tyler Linderbaum for One Reason

The big fish on this year's NFL free agent market when it comes to offensive linemen is none other than Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.

Linderbaum, one of the best young centers in the NFL at just 25 years old, is currently slated for the open market upon free agency beginning next week, and should be on the radar for multiple teams around the league looking for offensive line upgrades over the course of this offseason, and could very well become the league's highest-paid center in the process.

And while the Houston Texans would likely be a team that would benefit from a signing of a guy like Linderbaum, the idea might be a bit too outlandish to come to fruition.

KPRC2's Aaron Wilson recently reported on the current status regarding the Texans’ signing of Linderbaum in free agency, making it clear that there doesn't appear to be much traction generating between either side.

"I am not hearing about the Texans being in on Tyler Linderbaum," Wilson said in his latest free agency breakdown. "It doesn't look like they are going to go to the highest end of the center market."

Why Won't the Texans Sign Tyler Linderbaum?

Of course, adding an offensive line talent at the caliber of Linderbaum would be a wildly strong improvement overnight for the Texans' five-man front, and would answer a lot of uncertainty for Houston's protection concerns rolling into the 2026 campaign.

But in reality, for a center of Linderbaum's status to come aboard, it's going to take a pretty hefty contract offer to not only persuade him to leave the Ravens, but also outbid any other suitor in the market that may be pressing for his addition to their respective lines.

Before free agency has opened up, the Ravens have reportedly sent a "market-setting offer" to Linderbaum in hopes of being able to retain him. If that's the case, you could expect the annual value of that deal to creep around or above $20 million a year, considering the current highest-paid guy at his position is Kansas City Chiefs' Creed Humphrey at $18 million a year.

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

For the Texans, that's simply money that they don't have to throw around. Houston's narrowly above the NFL's salary cap by $3 million in effective cap space, just a few days away from entering the next league year.

Even when factoring in Houston's pending cuts and restructures for guys like Dalton Schultz and Azeez-Al Shaair ahead of opening up more money, that still won't be enough for a Linderbaum-level splash for their center position, and will be why they're more than likely to sit this race out entirely.

Who Could the Texans Sign Instead?

Rather than a pursuit of Linderbaum, Wilson went on to highlight one frequently-linked name to the Texans as another candidate to fill that center spot, and that's Carolina Panthers free agent Cade Mays.

Mays is a 26-year-old center who can fill in as an upgrade from last year's starter, Jake Andrews, in the middle of Houston's line at a lower cost than a guy like Linderbaum would present. That also gives the Texans flexibility in terms of money to address other positions around the roster in free agency and potentially fill more caps on the offensive line entirely.

Therefore, rather than pushing all of their chips in on Linderbaum, look for Nick Caserio and Co. to spread the wealth around to multiple free agent additions as the floodgates open for the market come the start of next week.

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