Raiders Get Much-Needed O-Line Help In Tyler Linderbaum

By Jared Smola | Updated on Tue, Mar 10 2026 1:14 PM UTC

The Raiders and C Tyler Linderbaum agreed to a three-year, $81 million deal with $60 million guaranteed on the first day of free agency. It makes Linderbaum the highest-paid interior lineman in NFL history. His $27 million average annual salary is $9 million more than any other center.

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

Did the Raiders overpay for Linderbaum? Probably. Is he a massive upgrade for an offensive line in desperate need of help? Definitely.

Linderbaum has been one of the best centers in the league since arriving in the first round of the 2022 draft. He owns the second-best pass block win rate (96.2%) and the seventh-best run block win rate (71.2%) among centers over the last four seasons. Linderbaum has been named to three straight Pro Bowls.

He'll be a huge boost to a Raiders offensive line that last year ranked:

22nd in run block win rate
32nd in adjusted line yards
30th in Pro Football Focus run block grade
22nd in pass block win rate
30th in adjusted sack rate
28th in Pro Football Focus pass block grade

Vegas could still use upgrades at RT and LG, but landing Linderbaum is a good start to fortifying rookie QB Fernando Mendoza's protection.

The addition is also good news for RB Ashton Jeanty, who ranked 56th among 60 qualifying RBs last year in yards before contact per attempt.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.