Laken

Tomlinson

Released by the Texans last week, Tomlinson joins a Ravens team that has shuffled around bodies at guard of late. It’s possible he gets elevated at some point down the stretch. They released EDGE Carl Lawson from the practice squad to free up the spot to add Tomlinson.

A healthy scratch for each of the last two games, Tomlinson played 284 snaps over seven weeks with the Texans, creating a 56.1 PFF blocking grade before the team finally demoted him. He’ll try to catch on elsewhere as a veteran stopgap for the last few weeks of the season.

After starting seven games this year, Houston has moved away from Tomlinson in the interior line. He was active in Week 10 and Week 11, but recorded zero offensive snaps in each game. Also inactive for the Texans are LB Jamal Hill (hamstring), QB Graham Mertz (third quarterback), T Jarrett Kingston and WR Braxton Berrios.

Another $750,000 is available through incentives. It’s a big improvement on last year for the 33-year-old, who had to wait until April to sign a $1.2 million deal. He’s a beneficiary of this spring’s explosive guard market. An every-snap player since 2017, Tomlinson is more “available” than effective, but he’s good enough to stay on the field. The Texans are trying to build up an offensive line that was amongst the league’s worst in 2024.

The Jets made Tomlinson a cap casualty earlier this offseason after he started all 17 games for them in 2023. Tomlinson earned a PFF blocking grade of 55.0 in those games, allowing seven sacks on 51 pressures — a noticeable decline from his previous two seasons. The 2021 Pro Bowler has started 138 games in his career should have a chance to start along Seattle’s interior.

The Jets released Tomlinson before the start of free agency, saving them $8.1 million in 2024 cap space. The nine-year vet started all 17 games he appeared in for the Jets last season, earning a PFF blocking grade of 55.0. Tomlinson allowed seven sacks on 51 pressures last season, compared to only three sacks on 56 pressures in his previous two seasons combined. Tomlinson will be 32 at the start of next season and should find a new home for 2024 in a market that’s been ripe for guards thus far.

They also restructured CB DJ Reed and TE Tyler Conklin. The moves create $15.2M in cap space for the Jets as they look to trade for Packers QB Aaron Rodgers ahead of free agency.

Tomlinson gets $27 million guaranteed. A once-failed first-rounder of the Lions at No. 28 overall in 2015, Tomlinson got a fresh start in San Francisco back in 2017 and ran with it to become a fixture on coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive line. In New York, Tomlinson goes somewhere he already knows the offense under former 49ers assistants Robert Saleh and OC Mike LaFleur. It should be a seamless transition and fills a massive need for the Jets.

The 49ers added voidable years to the end of Tomlinson’s deal. Tomlinson’s restructure creates $1.34 million in cap savings.

Tomlinson’s ACL is intact, so that’s the good news. The former Lions first-rounder should be good by the time OTAs and minicamp roll around and 100% well in advance of training camp. Tomlinson took over the starting job in Week 2 and signed a three-year extension through 2021 back in June.