Three Ravens That Must Be Extended Before March

Now that the 2025 NFL Season is over for the Baltimore Ravens, it is time to think about 2026. Since 2019, the Ravens have been prime Super Bowl contenders, but have fallen short of their preseason expectations. Whether it is due to injuries, coaching problems, or on-field performance, the Baltimore Ravens might be one of the best teams entering each season, only to become a laughing stock by January. In March, the free agent frenzy will begin, and 24 Ravens will test the market if a contract is not agreed upon. Players like Brent Urban, Jake Hummel, or Tyler Huntley may test the waters and return on a small one-year deal. However, others are too valuable even to let venture into the wild. Those players are Tyler Linderbaum, Alohi Gilman, and Jordan Stout.

Before analyzing why these three players should remain in Baltimore, it is worth noting that the first step is to confirm who will be the head coach in Baltimore after the Ravens fired John Harbaugh. There should not be any discrepancies when it comes to retaining a handful of Baltimore’s unrestricted free agents, regardless of who the head coach or coordinators are. However, each coach has different valuations of certain players. Owner Steve Bisciotti already said in the end of season press conference that whoever the coach ends up being, they will work hand-in-hand with GM Eric DeCosta, almost as equals, when it comes to roster building, but it starts with how much money the team has. The Ravens were able to carry over some money after 2025, but there is not enough to re-sign key parts of the team, while remaining semi-active in free agency. This leads to the second step: extending two-time MVP QB Lamar Jackson to space out and delay a larger cap hit into later years. Jackson’s cap hit was a reasonable $43.5 million in 2025. However, in each of the next two seasons, Jackson’s cap hit will jump up to $74.5 million, or about 20% of the total cap space in Baltimore. Without a Jackson extension, Baltimore can almost certainly kiss any chance of keeping or adding star players goodbye.

C Tyler Linderbaum

Tyler Linderbaum was drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, along with Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton had his fifth-year option picked up, and a few months later, signed a four-year, $100 million contract. Linderbaum’s fifth-year option was ultimately declined, but not because the Ravens were ready to move on, but because of the financial problem when picking up a lineman’s option. All linemen are grouped in the option payment, where guards and tackles are paid significantly more than centers. If the Ravens were to pick up Linderbaum’s option, he would have been guaranteed $23 million for one year, which is much higher than the league-leading salary for a center, held by Chiefs center Creed Humphrey at $18 million per year. Linderbaum still made the Pro Bowl in 2025 and is considered one of the best centers in the entire NFL despite being between two struggling guards. It would be a tragedy to let a three-time Pro Bowler walk and test free agency rather than help bolster the Baltimore offensive line that has needed consistency for years. Either way, Linderbaum should become the highest-paid center in the league, and fans hope he stays in Baltimore.

S Alohi Gilman

Alohi Gilman was a mid-season acquisition when the Ravens traded edge rusher Odafe Oweh, who was in a contract year himself, to the Chargers. In 2024, Hamilton was responsible for the deep part of the secondary due to the struggles and eventual release of Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson. This opened the door for Ar’Darius Washington to step into a starting role, allowing Hamilton to be the Swiss Army Knife Ravens fans know him as. Gilman was acquired in October 2025 to get Hamilton back into stacking the box as a makeshift linebacker and fill in for Washington, who was recovering from an offseason Achilles tear. In 12 games with the Ravens, Gilman had 68 combined tackles, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Gilman also scored a touchdown, but it was off a lateral after a Kyle Van Noy interception. Gilman was extremely explosive in his short time with the Ravens, helping the defense have a spectacular six-game stretch before it collapsed again. The defense relapsed into their normal style of allowing a lot of yards through the air because of the lack of pass rush.

In 2025, the Baltimore Ravens finished with 30 total sacks, which was 29th in the NFL. The team leader was DT Travis Jones, with five, and Tavius Robinson with four and a half, despite only playing in 10 total games due to injury. This is a conversation for another day, but the Ravens were unable to get any type of pressure on the quarterback, giving the opposition way too much time in the pocket, causing coverage slips and big-time conversions in crucial situations. While Gilman did not create any pressure on the QB, his acquisition allowed Hamilton to return to the explosive playstyle, gain draft capital for a potential draft selection, or package them for another trade for a distinguished veteran. It was unlikely that Oweh would get extended recording zero sacks in five games after having a career high 10 in 2024. As for fellow safety Ar’Darius Washington, who is also set to be a free agent, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to retain Washington on a smaller “feel it out” deal due to his injury history and go from there. Gilman’s stats were not groundbreaking with the Ravens, but his immediate impact on the backend seems like a great start for a secondary duo between two former Notre Dame defensive teammates.

P Jordan Stout

Special teams consistency is crucial for many reasons. Kickers add points on the board, but punters put the defense in great position when the offense fails to do their job. For 16 years, the Ravens had punter stability with Sam Koch. Jordan Stout has proved himself as a quality punter within the league. Stout earned his first Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro selections after recording franchise records for average yards per punt with 50.1, average net yards per punt with 44.9, and shares the franchise record for longest punt with 74 yards with former punter Sam Koch. While Stout punted less in 2025 than in any year in his career, his career-high 2,600 punt yards are most likely attributed to the lack of offensive success and consistency. The constant three-and-outs and 41% on third-down would have put the fourth-worst defense in the league in an awful position. Stout put the defense in a position to succeed. The great defensive field position, but a bad defense allowed the opposition to put up more yards against the Ravens' defense. Many punters are shuffled around the league year-by-year, but Stout should stay in Baltimore because when he puts the defense in good field position, and the defense can finally keep up their end of the bargain, it’ll, in turn, put the offense in good field position to score.

All in all, there are a lot of players the Ravens should consider retaining before the frenzy starts in March. Besides the three already mentioned, Patrick Ricard, Isaiah Likely, Tyler Huntley, and Dre’Mont Jones could also be worthy of an extension. It would be nice to keep all these players. However, without a new head coach and coordinators, Jackson's extension, and the unknown future of Nnamdi Madubuike, Baltimore may look completely different in 2026.