The Baltimore Ravens completely flipped the script of this free agency cycle. On Tuesday, the stunningly backed out of their trade for edge rusher Maxx Crosby, which would’ve sent two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, Crosby is technically available again, and teams that have already spent a lot in the legal tampering window, including the Raiders, may be panicking just a bit.
The Raiders have the cap space for Crosby’s contract, and they’ll likely have room for those free agent agreements they have in place. However, it’ll depend on how the contracts are structured.
Among those contracts agreed upon is a three-year, $81 million deal with center Tyler Linderbaum. Now, with Crosby back in Las Vegas, and Baltimore having money freed back up, there could be a nonzero chance that general manager Eric DeCosta tries to get back in on Linderbaum negotiations before a deal is finalized.
Baltimore Ravens could deliver ultimate free agency reversal with Tyler Linderbaum heist
To make things clear, Linderbaum will most likely stay a Raider. If Las Vegas does have to restructure or back out of a contract or two, it’ll almost certainly be with a player such as edge rusher Kwity Paye. Linderbaum is their big fish of the offseason, and through the craziness following the Maxx Crosby debacle, they’ll do everything to ensure he stays in the silver and black.
However, the door might be cracked for Baltimore to make a play. While the reasoning for the failed trade was due to Crosby’s knee injury, an injury everyone was already very aware of, teams are not too happy with how they handled business. Rumors have surfaced that the Ravens could have gotten cold feet. Perhaps part of that was realizing that letting Linderbaum walk was a mistake, and backing out could put Baltimore back in the mix to try to bring him back.
The current state of Baltimore’s interior offensive line is painful to look at. Sure, they added guard John Simpson, and while he’s solid, he’s not a game-changer. Opposite of Simpson is a complete question mark between Andrew Vorhees and Emery Jones Jr., but the lack of a center is now the most prominent question mark of all. Linderbaum's departure is a back-breaking loss, and wiping away the Crosby deal could give the Ravens a shot to tamper right back and steal him away.
Baltimore’s offseason is now turning into a dumpster fire. While the start of free agency was very rough, at least they had Crosby to look forward to. Unfortunately, they’ve lost him now, too. They need a serious ace up their sleeve to rebound from this complete disaster, and maybe there’s a world where Linderbaum becomes a part of that. They definitely caused some trouble for the Raiders in that situation.