Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta said recently that the team had some work to do when it comes to re-signing center Tyler Linderbaum ahead of free agency and he revealed one of the steps they’ve taken during a Tuesday press conference in Indianapolis.
Linderbaum, who is No. 3 on PFT’s list of the top free agents, is set for free agency after the Ravens passed on exercising their fifth-year option on his rookie deal. That decision was tied to the $23.4 million salary that would come with that option as it would be well above the $18 million average annual salary that currently tops the market for centers.
That salary disparity would also be in play for the franchise tag, but DeCosta said on Tuesday that the Ravens are willing to make Linderbaum the highest-paid center in the league. He told reporters that the team has offered Linderbaum a “market-setting” deal as they try to hold onto the three-time Pro Bowler.
The question for Linderbaum is whether another team will offer him an even bigger contract to switch teams ahead of the 2026 season.
Ravens Clips
One of the strangest plays of the 2025 NFL season was called correctly on the field, only to be overturned by replay review.
In the Week 14 Ravens-Steelers game, Aaron Rodgers threw a pass that was batted back to him, and Rodgers grabbed the ball, as did Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan. They wrestled for it as Rodgers went to the ground, Buchanan ended up with it, and the officials on the field ruled it an interception. Then a replay review ruled that Rodgers had possession of the ball with a knee down, and Rodgers caught the pass.
That replay review was incorrect. A league spokesman confirmed to PFT that when NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent said there were replay reviews the league wishes it could have back, that ruling of a Rodgers catch was one of them. It should have been an interception.
That play was a big moment in the fourth quarter of a big win for the Steelers, as it allowed the Steelers to run another minute off the clock and resulted in a 50-yard field position swing between where the Ravens would have had the ball if the interception had stood, and where the Ravens got the ball after the Steelers punted. Considering that the Ravens ended up narrowly losing, and ultimately losing the AFC North because of that loss, it’s a huge disappointment to Ravens fans that the replay review process overturned the correct call on the field.
Now that the league office has had time to carefully scrutinize the play, PFT is told that the Rodgers play should have been ruled the same way as the Bills’ interception in overtime of their playoff loss to the Broncos. On that play, Bills receiver Brandin Cooks did have the ball as he went to the ground, but he did not complete the process of the catch by maintaining possession on the ground. Denver’s Ja’Quan McMillian snatched the ball away from Cooks and secured the interception, just as Buchanan snatched the ball away from Rodgers and secured the interception.
On McMillian’s interception, the ruling on the field stood. It should have stood on Buchanan’s interception as well.
The Ravens want to sign Lamar Jackson to a new contract. That was already known, with owner Steve Bisciotti saying last month the team wanted to get an extension worked out before free agency.
On Tuesday at the Scouting Combine, General Manager Eric DeCosta wouldn’t say where things stand in talks, but he did make clear he expects a deal at some point.
“Lamar and I have an agreement: We handle business kind of in-house internally, as you all know,” DeCosta said. “That worked well for us the last time, and we will continue to have that policy moving forward. I have spoken to Lamar about a lot of different things over the last month. He’s been very engaged. He was big value to us in the coaching search, but we’ll continue those conversations moving forward.”
DeCosta, though, did allow that he is confident in signing Jackson to an extension.
“I am. I am. I definitely am,” DeCosta said.
Jackson will count $74.5 million against the salary cap in 2026 and 2027, so a new agreement would lower his cap number for this season. DeCosta, though, said that the start of free agency on March 11 is not a deadline. (A restructure would create $38 million in space.)
“I think we never have as much cap room as we would like to have, but we feel like we can start at the beginning of the new league year and conduct business,” DeCosta said.
Jackson has a new coach, having sat in on the interviews with Jesse Minter and others. The quarterback also was in on the interviews for a new offensive coordinator, which turned out to be Declan Doyle.
At his introductory news conference last week, Doyle made clear he expects players to participate in the voluntary offseason work. Jackson has forfeited $1.5 million by not participating in the minimum number of voluntary practices the past two offseasons.
He may or may not attend this offseason.
DeCosta doesn’t seem to care either way.
“You know what, those are voluntary,” DeCosta said. " Lamar is a two-time MVP. I think he knows what it takes to get ready for the grind of the NFL season, and he’s proven he can do it at a very, very high level, and I have no preference.”
One of the biggest calls of this NFL season came in the Week 14 Ravens-Steelers game, when Baltimore’s Isaiah Likely scored what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown with 2:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, only to have the on-field officials’ ruling overturned by replay. Now NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent is suggesting the on-field officials were right, and the replay reversal was wrong.
Vincent told Mark Maske that the Likely play was among a handful of replay rulings that the league office has had second thoughts about.
“There was two plays in particular,” Vincent said. “There was the Likely play . . . Ravens-Steelers in the end zone. And then you had the one—there was a Jets play. But it was the Likely play that you go, that was interesting because of the third step and they were talking about the ball extended out. So it was: What constitutes that third act?”
It doesn’t engender a lot of confidence in the league’s officiating when league executives are still not clear on what constitutes a third act necessary to completing a catch. And Vincent’s statement doesn’t conclusively say that the replay overturn was wrong. But it sounds like the league now thinks the ruling on the field of a Ravens touchdown should have stood.
If the touchdown had counted, the Ravens probably would have won that game. Change the result of that game, and the Ravens win the AFC North, as they would have finished tied with the Steelers in the standings and would have won the tiebreaker based on a better division record. If the Ravens had won the AFC North, John Harbaugh might still be their coach. Someone else would be coaching the Giants. A whole lot would be different.
Vincent acknowledged that there were some replay reviews he is second-guessing, and he said most of those came in the early Sunday afternoon window when there are several games going on at once and the league’s replay office is slammed.
“When you watch, there was about five plays,” Vincent said. “Of the 171 plays that we called on replay or replay assist that came back to the booth, there were five that we said if we had to do it again, on just the replay assist, in general. Of that 171 that occurred during [the] regular season, there were five after we kind of took a step back and breathed-four of them [were] in the 1 o’clock window. Just volume and you go, ‘Ah, if we had to do that one again, just looking at it.’ ”
The idea that NFL officiating is going to be worse in the 1 o’clock window because the league officiating office has too many games to follow at once should not be acceptable to anyone. The league needs to make sure its officiating office is fully staffed at all times, with competent officials who can make the right call. Every time.
UPDATE 8:39 a.m. ET: An NFL spokesman clarified with PFT that while the Likely play was discussed in detail, it was not one of the handful that Vincent was referring to that the league would like to have back.
UPDATE: 11:34 a.m. ET: The NFL has confirmed that Vincent did acknowledge another play in that Steelers-Ravens game, an interception thrown by Aaron Rodgers, was ruled correctly on the field and should not have been overturned on replay.
The following are PFT’s top 100 free agents for the start of the 2026 league year. The rankings include prospective unrestricted free agents and released players. The list will be updated as events warrant, with signings, tags and re-signings denoted when announced and/or reported. Players released after initial publication may be added and all 100 players initially on the list will still be listed after any additions.
1. Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.
2. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones.
3. Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.
4. Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd.
5. Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.
6. Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts.
7. Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce.
8. Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson.
9. Jets running back Breece Hall.
10. Packers quarterback Malik Willis.
11. Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean.
12. Seahawks WR/KR/PR Rashid Shaheed.
13. Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker.
14. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker.
15. Colts offensive tackle Braden Smith.
16. Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean.
17. Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe.
18. Packers linebacker Quay Walker.
19. Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal.
20. Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans.
21. Seahawks defensive back Coby Bryant.
22. 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
23. Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs.
24. Jaguars running back Travis Etienne.
25. Broncos edge rusher John Franklin-Myers.
26. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
27. Eagles edge rusher Jaelen Phillips.
28. Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
29. Bills center Connor McGovern.
30. Jets guard Alijah Vera-Tucker.
31. Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen.
32. Chiefs safety Bryan Cook.
33. Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright.
34. Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa.
35. Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb.
36. Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely.
37. Chargers edge rusher Odafe Oweh.
38. Steelers offensive guard Isaac Seumalo.
39. Lions defensive tackle D.J. Reader.
40. Browns linebacker Devin Bush.
41. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker.
42. Rams safety Kamren Curl.
43. Bills offensive guard David Edwards.
44. Patriots edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson.
45. Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
46. Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor.
47. Chargers offensive guard Zion Johnson.
48. Browns offensive guard Joel Bitonio.
49. Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.
50. Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone.
51. Panthers center Cade Mays.
52. Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack.
53. Bears safety Kevin Byard.
54. Colts edge rusher Kwity Paye.
55. Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss.
56. Ravens edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones.
57. Browns offensive guard Wyatt Teller.
58. Lions edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad.
59. Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner.
60. Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
61. Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins.
62. Cowboys edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
63. Saints linebacker Demario Davis.
64. Panthers running back Rico Dowdle.
65. Falcons edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie.
66. Titans offensive guard Kevin Zeitler.
67. Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins.
68. Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson.
69. Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton.
70. Saints edge rusher Cameron Jordan.
71. Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe.
72. Giants offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor.
73. Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk.
74. Browns tight end David Njoku.
75. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
76. Giants offensive guard Greg Van Roten.
77. Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota.
78. Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown.
79. Falcons defensive tackle David Onyemata.
80. Bucs linebacker Lavonte David.
81. Bengals guard Dalton Risner.
82. Vikings safety Harrison Smith.
83. Giants quarterback Russell Wilson.
84. Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
85. Jets safety Andre Cisco.
86. Buccaneers running back Rachaad White.
87. Packers edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare.
88. Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen.
89. Dolphins cornerback Rasul Douglas.
90. Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.
91. Titans tight end Chig Okonwko.
92. Eagles safety Reed Blankenship.
93. Raiders offensive guard Dylan Parham.
94. Browns safety Rayshawn Jenkins.
95. Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton.
96. Broncos outside linebacker Justin Strnad.
97. Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco.
98. Colts cornerback Mike Hilton.
99. Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.
100. Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier.
Tight end Isaiah Likely’s hopes for a breakout 2025 season with the Ravens were hindered by a preseason foot injury, but he hasn’t lost sight of that goal as he gets closer to becoming a free agent for the first time in the NFL.
Likely told Jon Gruden on Gruden Goes Long that he didn’t feel like himself until around Thanksgiving because of the foot issue that caused him to miss the first three games of the season. He finished the year with 27 catches and he said that his message for his agent was that he wants to sign his next contract with a team that allows him to move to the next level.
“With my agent, what I told him was I just want to be able to blossom,” Likely said. “The last couple years, I’ve had a great vet in Mark Andrews, where he taught me everything to be a star-caliber tight end to the point where it’s like now I just want to be on a team where I can get out there and help a quarterback, help a team be able to put as much points on the board as possible. So just giving that information to my agent and letting him go to the teams and be an agent.”
Likely isn’t ruling out a return to Baltimore and said he considers it home before adding that “business is business” when it comes to a team that recently signed Andrews and wide receiver Rashod Bateman to new deals. They also have wide receiver Zay Flowers due for his first extension and quarterback Lamar Jackson set for another one, so there may be too many mouths to feed for the Ravens to clear out enough space for Likely.
Every year, the coaching carousel spins first. Then, the quarterback carousel whirls.
It’s coming soon. Veteran quarterbacks will be cut, traded, signed. Teams will reshuffle their depth charts with changes at the most important position on the team.
In a recent item about the potential contract prospects of Packers (for now) backup Malik Willis, some of the veteran options were listed. Here’s a look at the various teams that will have decisions to make regarding veteran quarterbacks currently on the roster, or to be added once the new league year begins.
Dolphins: They have a decision to make about Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins owe him $54 million in 2026. The two-year (or one-year, if they choose to rip the Band-Aid in one motion) dead-cap charge for cutting Tua would be $99.2 million. They need to decide what to do with Tua, and whether to add a veteran — like Willis. They’d surely love to find a way to trade Tua, even if it means selling some of the cap charge to another team by attaching a draft pick to Tua’s contract. And since they owe him every penny of his 2026 pay, they could choose to keep him around. (That would fully guarantee another $3 million for 2027, however.)
Jets: Justin Fields likely will be cut. Half of his $20 million salary for 2026 is fully guaranteed. They’ll likely be looking for a veteran, possibly on a short-term basis, to run new coordinator Frank Reich’s offense.
Steelers: They’re willing to wait for Aaron Rodgers, which would take them out of play for a veteran in the early days of free agency. Willis or Cousins could be intriguing options, if they find out before March 11 that Rodgers won’t be returning.
Browns: Who knows what they’ll do? Deshaun Watson is under contract for another year, at $46 million. Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are, too. Will the new half-regime led by coach Todd Monken want a veteran from the outside?
Ravens: In the unlikely event the Ravens trade Lamar Jackson, they’d need a new quarterback — presumably one with starting experience.
Colts: Daniel Jones, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, likely will be back. Anthony Richardson has one year left on his rookie deal; he’s under contract for 2026 at guaranteed pay of $5.385 million. If Jones leaves, the Colts would need another veteran.
Raiders: They owe Geno Smith $18.5 million for 2026. Another $8 million becomes fully guaranteed on March 13. Would someone trade for him at $26.5 million? He could be cut. The Raiders also could keep him as the bridge to Fernando Mendoza, if they make him the first overall pick.
Vikings: They want a veteran who’ll compete with J.J. McCarthy. That could make it harder to attract a veteran who’ll want a commitment that he’ll be QB1. Based on McCarthy’s performance and durability in 2025, however, most veteran quarterbacks with reasonable confidence would believe they can win a fair and square competition. If they believe the competition will be both fair and square.
Falcons: They haven’t committed to Michael Penix Jr. being the Week 1 starter, and for good reason. Penix is recovering from his latest ACL tear. Cousins could, in theory, return after being released. That seems unlikely. Another veteran is possible for the new-look football operation led by Matt Ryan, Ian Cunningham, and Kevin Stefanski.
Cardinals: The moment Kyler Murray was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury that was supposedly healing, the message was clear — it’s over for Murray in Arizona. The Cardinals owe him $36.8 million for 2026, with another $22.55 million in 2026 pay and 2027 salary hitting the books early in the 2026 league year. If not traded, he’ll be cut. Willis could be an option for the Cardinals. Rodgers potentially could be a target, too.
With the Scouting Combine beginning soon, the carousel will start moving. Coaches and General Managers who take the podium on Tuesday or Wednesday will be asked pointed questions. Agents will meet with teams.
The Scouting Combine gives NFL teams a chance to watch draft prospects work out and it also gives teams a chance to start seeing what might happen when free agency gets underway in March.
One situation to watch involves Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum. The Ravens did not pick up Linderbaum’s option because is would guarantee him $23.4 million in 2026 and the cost of a franchise tag for an offensive lineman would be even higher, so Linderbaum is likely to be available in free agency if the Ravens can’t come up with a deal that keeps him from weighing his options.
During an appearance on the Inner Circle podcast, Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged that the team has some heavy lifting to do if they want to keep Linderbaum in Baltimore.
“We’ve got some work to do on Tyler Linderbaum’s contract,” DeCosta said. “He’s a free agent. We strongly hope to have him back. He’s a great player for us and a great leader.”
Chiefs center Creed Humphrey has the highest average annual salary at the position at $18 million and Linderbaum will likely be aiming to top that in a deal with Baltimore or anyone else.
When new Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle emphasized the importance of offseason workouts, he didn’t single out any one player.
He didn’t need to.
Doyle undoubtedly was talking about, and to, quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“We would expect [players] to be here and, certainly, it is voluntary,” Doyle said. “But, if you want to say that you’re going to win a championship, you want to say that you have championship standards, and those are your goals and your expectations — certainly that’s going to take work, that’s going to take collaboration, and that’s going to take the beginning of building the relationship with their coaches [and] other players starting off this next regime on the right foot.”
The comment doesn’t entirely mesh with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which says this: “No Club official may indicate to a player that the Club’s offseason workout program or classroom instruction is not voluntary.”
And while Doyle added that the offseason program is “voluntary,” the full sentence makes the point. They “expect” the players to volunteer.
The voluntary nature of the offseason workouts is a collectively bargained fiction. Still, plenty of players take advantage of the ability to stay away. That’s why teams use workout bonuses or other contractual clauses to induce players to volunteer.
For Jackson, his contract includes $750,000 in annual workout bonuses from 2024 through 2027. He has already given up $1.5 million by not participating in the minimum number of voluntary practices over the past two offseasons.
As the Ravens approach a new league year that will see Jackson’s cap number mushroom from $43.5 million to $74.5 million, the Ravens hope to extend the deal. They also hope, based on Doyle’s comments, that Jackson will choose to show up for the team’s offseason program.
The clock is ticking on a new contract. Owner Steve Bisciotti has said that, without one, the Ravens will exercise their prerogative to restructure the deal and slash the cap number. That likely won’t do much, if anything, to persuade Jackson to not give up another $750,000 in what will be a critical offseason for a brand-new coaching staff. A new, market-level deal could.
Through it all, no one knows what Jackson truly thinks about the new coaching staff. The same as no one knows what Jackson thinks about Doyle applying not-so-subtle pressure to a quarterback who has the power to walk away in two years.
And that’s the bottom line, even if plenty of Ravens fans don’t want to acknowledge it. Jackson can choose to make $104 million (or $102.5 million by skipping the voluntary offseason program) over the next two season and become a free agent. Only a new contract will keep that from happening.
New Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is 29 years old.
That currently makes him the same age as quarterback Lamar Jackson, though Jackson turned 29 in January and Doyle will turn 30 in early March.
But Doyle has been coaching since 2016, having first served as a student assistant while at Iowa before becoming an offensive assistant for the Saints under head coach Sean Payton in 2019.
From there, he became the Broncos’ tight ends coach again under Payton in 2023 before being hired as the Bears’ offensive coordinator under head coach Ben Johnson last year.
Now he’s in his first job as a full-time play-caller and feels like being close in age with his quarterback can be an advantage.
“I think first of all, it starts with any of our players, it’s the relationship that you build,” Doyle said in a Wednesday press conference, via transcript from the team. “And so, it actually is a little bit easier for me to connect with guys because we are the same age. We grew up in the same world, and I’ve kind of had that experience every step of the way throughout my coaching journey.
“This is going to be my 11th year coaching, and I’ve pretty much been younger than every guy in the room I’ve been in. I’ve always been too young for every job I’ve ever had. And what I’ve noticed is that it really doesn’t matter. Knowledge is power, and if they feel like you can help them and they feel like you can help accelerate their career and our goals as a team, guys are willing to listen, guys are willing to be taught and to grow and to work together. And so, it is a collaboration. I do think it gives me a little bit of a unique advantage, just in the fact that we kind of come from the same world.”
As for his budding relationship with Jackson, Doyle said he and the quarterback have spoken a few times over the last several weeks.
“One of them was in the interview process,” Doyle said. “I was able to sit with him for, I don’t know, over an hour on a Zoom call while he was down in Florida. We talked about a lot of different subjects, but kind of go through his time in the past year and kind of what his vision is for what he needs to be able to operate at the highest level. I really wanted to see if we were compatible and if that was a fit. You’re trying to figure out what the coaching structure is going to look like in that way.
“And so, I got a chance to visit with him then and have had a chance to visit with him a few more times since then. [We’ve] exchanged some texts, and I am certainly very excited about the caliber of player he is, but also just in all the conversations, his willingness to listen, his hunger to learn, and his hunger to grow. I think he does — he’s a guy with a growth mindset. He’s played at a really high level, and still, I think that he wants to continue to work and feels like he can get better. And so, [I] and the rest of the staff are really excited to chase that with him.”
