Sportsnaut
Fed up with the results of the past two seasons, the Las Vegas Raiders made major changes this offseason, hiring a new head coach for the third time in as many seasons. This time, they’ve gone with the young hotshot fresh off a Super Bowl win. That model worked pretty well for the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, when they landed Kevin O’Connell. He won Coach of the Year two seasons later and now ranks 23rd in NFL history in coaching win percentage.
But the Raiders didn’t just hire a new coach in Klint Kubiak; the front office has also been busy, trying to address the team’s biggest weaknesses and help accentuate their strengths. Part of that process included getting bold in free agency and spending beaucoup bucks.
Aside from hiring Kubiak, not trading Maxx Crosby, and selecting Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, arguably the biggest move the Raiders made this offseason was signing Tyler Linderbaum to a three-year, $81 million contract. At $27 million per season,
Linderbaum’s contract shattered the market for highest-paid centers. The next-closest center is the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Creed Humphrey, who’s making an average of $18 million per season. Humphrey is a 27-year-old, two-time All-Pro Super Bowl champion with four Pro Bowl appearances to his name. Linderbaum is a 26-year-old three-time Pro Bowler with no All-Pro selections in his four-year career thus far.
Meanwhile, ESPN recently conducted a poll asking coaches, scouts, and football executives to rank the top 10 interior offensive linemen in the league today. Linderbaum came in at eighth. Humphrey ranked third.
Yet, the biggest takeaway from ESPN’s iOL rankings was what NFL coaches reportedly said about Linderbaum in pass protection, calling him a “liability” at times.
Of course, when good and great players reach free agency in their prime, they tend to reset the market. That’s what happened when Kirk Cousins left Washington for Minnesota. No one thought he was the best quarterback, but the Vikings needed a starter, and Cousins had earned a trip to the Pro Bowl the year before he reached free agency. By hitting the open market, Cousins’ agent had leverage, and he got paid handsomely.
Ultimately, Linderbaum is leaps and bounds better than who the Raiders had before. Now that he’s settling into a new atmosphere and will be receiving different guidance, perhaps any potential weaknesses can be ironed out. After all, once comments like this go public, it will likely only serve as further motivation for the former first-round pick to sharpen his craft.
Related: 1 Breakout Candidate for All 32 NFL Teams in 2026
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