The Tyler Linderbaum sweepstakes turned out to be much richer than anyone could have expected.
For a cash-strapped team like the Cleveland Browns, Linderbaum’s market dashed a dream that probably never came all that close to becoming a reality during Day 1 of the NFL's legal tampering window.
Linderbaum reportedly agreed to a market-shattering deal with the Las Vegas Raiders that, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, includes $60 million in guarantees and an average-per-year salary of $27 million. For context, the league's highest-paid center is Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey at $18 million per year.
The good news for Cleveland is that one of the best offensive linemen in football is leaving the AFC North for the AFC West.
The bad news for Todd Monken is that his Browns were unable to land a player who would’ve transformed their offensive rebuild overnight.
The Browns' biggest winner of Tyler Linderbaum’s massive contract is painfully obvious
Linderbaum enjoyed three Pro Bowl seasons in Monken’s offense with the Baltimore Ravens, with Monken serving on John Harbaugh’s staff as offensive coordinator. He’s a bit undersized for the position and has struggled at times against bigger defensive tackles, but his athleticism in the run game is among the best in the business. He would’ve been right in the middle of Monken’s expected run-first approach in Cleveland.
The Browns’ salary cap situation is less than ideal, but general manager Andrew Berry made it clear that the team would have enough flexibility to make targeted moves. Cleveland’s never been the most aggressive team in free agency, though, and at $27 million per year, Linderbaum was clearly well beyond what the Browns would’ve been willing to commit.
The biggest winner of the Linderbaum sweepstakes might be Luke Wypler, who filled in for the injured Ethan Pocic for the final four games of the 2025 season. Wypler's still on a cheap rookie-scale contract as a former sixth-round draft pick, and he should at least get the chance to compete for the starting gig in training camp this summer with the big free-agent fish now off the board.
More moves could be coming at the guard spots for Cleveland, with a decision still pending on Joel Bitonio’s future. Tackle Dawand Jones could also be in the mix depending on how the rest of free agency and the draft shakes out.
This one will sting about for Browns fans, because the fit with Linderbaum was so perfect. But when you factor in the Bills' reported deal with Connor McGovern — four years, $52 million — the Linderbaum contract was an overpay that only the Raiders were willing to commit to.