Tyler Linderbaum’s $81 million Raiders contract leaves insiders split

The Las Vegas Raiders should be a much improved team during the 2026 season. Las Vegas upgraded their quarterback room this offseason, signing Kirk Cousins and drafting Fernando Mendoza. But one Raiders offensive lineman is receiving mixed reviews after earning a monster contract earlier this spring.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler released the site’s annual top 10 list for interior offensive lineman on Sunday. ESPN sourced votes from more than 70 NFL scouts, coaches, and executives to compile their ranking.

Raiders fans probably expected their high-priced free agent acquisition, center Tyler Linderbaum, to make the list. After all, Linderbaum earned a three-year, $81 million contract during NFL free agency. But the superstar center earned a surprisingly mixed bag of reviews from NFL sources.

Linderbaum ended up in eighth place on the list, only moving up two spots from 10th last offseason. Some voters had Linderbaum as their top interior offensive lineman, while others did not even have Linderbaum included on their top 10 list.

“A heavy-handed center that can get to the second level,” a veteran NFL defensive coach said, per Fowler. “There aren’t many of those at the center position who can do that at a high level. And he can run the show from a communication standpoint.”

But Fowler made it clear that not every NFL evaluator is high on Linderbaum. In fact, some coaches believe he is a “liability” as a pass protector.

“Despite Linderbaum’s impressive pass-blocking numbers, some coaches say he’s a liability in that area at times and can “float and help” with scheme protection instead of matching up one-on-one,” Fowler added.

The Raiders clearly don’t agree that Linderbaum is a true liability on the offensive line. Ideally, the vision is to have Linderbaum keep the quarterback clean and punch open big running lanes for Ashton Jeanty.

It will be fascinating to see if Linderbaum can live up to his huge expectations in Vegas later this fall.