The Baltimore Ravens have received a lot of praise for using their 1st-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft on 6-foot-4, 330-pound Penn State offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane.
Ioane, the No. 14 overall pick, projects as not just a plug-and-play starter but a dominant one — a likely future Pro Bowler.
There’s only 1 problem. Drafting a great guard doesn’t cover up the fact that the Ravens just lost arguably the NFL’s elite center in free agency when 3-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum left for a 3-year, $81 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay called losing Linderbaum the Ravens’ “Fatal Flaw” headed into the season.
“Linderbaum’s contributions to this rush-heavy offense were immense,” Kay wrote. “He was one of the most dynamic run-blockers in the league, and while he wasn’t as consistent in pass protection, he flashed the ability to stonewall interior rushes and still has the potential to become far more consistent in that area. Baltimore has several candidates to fill the void at center, but none profile as a seamless replacement for Linderbaum … There’s a real danger that the position becomes both a revolving door and turnstile in 2026, preventing the Ravens from reaching their potential and keeping them out of the Super Bowl hunt.”
Figuring Out Starting Center for Ravens in 2026
If the Ravens had to play a game tomorrow, the starting center would probably be undrafted free agent Corey Bullock.
Bullock, 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, joined the Ravens in 2024 after playing his final season of college football at Maryland in 2023, after 3 seasons at FCS North Carolina Central, where he was an All-MEAC selection.
In 2025, Bullock played in 16 games, although mostly on special teams with only 13 offensive snaps. Other options for the Ravens would be free-agent guard Jovaughn Gwyn or 1 of last year’s starters at guard with 6-foot-6, 320-pounder Andrew Vorhees, who seems to have been replaced by John Simpson in free agency.
Linderbaum ‘Biggest Winner’ in NFL Free Agency
While the Ravens are facing some serious questions on their interior offensive line, 1 person who walked away shining was Linderbaum, who received the biggest contract for an interior offensive lineman in NFL history.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon. called Linderbaum the NFL’s “Biggest Winner” following the free agency cycle.
“Linderbaum reset the center market with an AAV that is 50 percent higher than former leader Creed Humphrey ($18 million), while the $10-million-per-year guard club saw its membership rise by 30 percent,” Gagnon wrote on Sunday. “Teams are really starting to value interior offensive linemen more heavily.”
The Ravens made franchise history — the wrong kind — by losing Linderbaum to the Raiders.
“With center Tyler Linderbaum going to Raiders, this marks just the second time in the Ravens’ 31-year history that they have failed to keep a multiple Pro Bowl first-round pick past his rookie deal,” ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote on X after Linderbaum’s exit. “The other time this occurred was 2019 with C.J. Mosley.”
The Raiders had a good reason for spending so much on Linderbaum, as he’ll be called on to protect the franchise’s most precious asset — rookie quarterback and 2026 No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
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