With their season coming to an end, Baltimore Ravens fans must face a terrifying truth that is now suddenly upon them.
In a year when the Ravens were the heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl, what could have been the franchise’s third Super Bowl and first since 2012 turned out to be a fairy tale.
Their roster was loaded with star power, featuring players like two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, future first-ballot Hall of Famer Derrick Henry, and All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, to name a few. When you have this much elite talent, your cap space tends to be really tight, and you can only hold on to all that skill for so long. At the end of the season, the Ravens’ projected 2026 offseason budget is in the middle of the pack, at just over $40 million.
Baltimore’s front office knows that with so little cap space available, they can’t keep every cornerstone player. The Ravens, knowing they have to get creative if they want to keep their talent, are already signing players to extensions, including star tight end Mark Andrews, Kyle Hamilton, long snapper Nick Moore, and DT John Jenkins.
But even with those deals done, Ravens fans must embrace the organization’s big decision on two current players who could affect the team’s future. The Ravens must decide which rising star to keep— Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum or young stud tight end Isaiah Likely.
The Case for Linderbaum
Ravens star center Tyler Linderbaum is heading to free agency after the team rejected his fifth-year option, which would have paid him $23.4 million next year and made him the highest-paid center by over $5 million. Now, if the Ravens don’t reach an agreement with him soon, he will become a free agent in March.
For Baltimore, the argument for keeping Tyler Linderbaum starts with one simple truth: elite centers don’t grow on trees. Since entering the league, he’s made the Pro Bowl three of his four seasons. He’s also established himself as one of the best young centers, ranking fifth this season on PFF with a grade of 80.3.
Linderbaum’s value to the team is even more critical than ever, with Lamar Jackson missing four games this season due to injury and the team allowing the 11th-most sacks (42). The Ravens need to lock down a player who helps keep their Super Bowl window wide open.
Losing a player of Linderbaum’s caliber would not just be a loss. It could trigger a butterfly effect that changes the entire direction of the team’s future, amid concerns about how the O-line has played. The last thing the team needs to do is add another question mark to the O-line when you have a player who has shown the ability to bring stability to that position.
The Case for Likely
This young tight end looked like someone about to become the next NFL superstar. Instead, he fell flat in a contract year, and Isaiah’s future with the team seems murkier than ever.
Heading into this season, Likely was the wide favorite to be Baltimore’s next big offensive threat after flashing dominance in the last two years, going for 400 yards each season and scoring a combined 11 touchdowns, all while being TE2. With the sudden decline of Mark Andrews, who was two years removed from his last Pro Bowl appearance, it seemed likely that he would take over as the Ravens’ starting tight end.
But the stage light got too bright, and Likely had a disappointing season. He was never able to find his footing. His on-field production dipped, and he made costly mistakes at key moments.
Still, the Ravens know what they have in Likely, and at just 25, he still has plenty of time. His ability to get open and break away from defenders is amazing for a tight end, which seems to be an ever-growing skill that tight ends need to have in this ever-adapting league.
That’s what makes this difficult: a 6-4, 250-pound guy with the tools to dominate the league is now entering free agency, and does he justify the risk of betting on himself? The question now goes back to Baltimore after re-signing Andrews. Is it worth paying all that money to keep this duo together, or do you go another route and try to find another great tight end to replace him?
Prediction
With the Ravens deciding to keep Mark Andrews, Ravens fans should expect the team to let Isaiah Likely walk in free agency. Look for the Ravens to either draft a tight end or find his replacement in free agency.
Meanwhile, Ravens fans should expect the team to re-sign star center Tyler Linderbaum, as losing a player that talented would be hard to replace.
Leave a comment