Seven offensive linemen were selected before Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. Maybe none has been as impressive.

Linderbaum, the No. 27 overall pick, has earned Pro Bowl honors in two of his first three years, tied with Cowboys lineman Tyler Smith for the most in their class. He has started 49 games, tied with the Los Angeles Chargers’ Zion Johnson for the most in their class. He has played for an offense ranked among the NFL’s best each of the past two years. He has demonstrated his value to the Ravens, year after year.

But what, exactly, do the Ravens see as Linderbaum’s value? On Wednesday, it became a little clearer, as general manager Eric DeCosta exercised the fifth-year option on All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton’s rookie contract, worth $18.6 million in 2026, but declined Linderbaum’s. In a statement, DeCosta said he hoped to retain both.

“We are exercising the fifth-year option for Kyle Hamilton, with the goal of working toward a multi-year contract extension,” DeCosta said. “While we will not apply the fifth-year option to Tyler Linderbaum, it is our intention for him to remain a Baltimore Raven long term.”

Ahead of Thursday’s deadline, a handful of Linderbaum’s less accomplished classmates had their 2026 salaries fully guaranteed. Carolina Panthers tackle Ikem Ekwonu is due $17.6 million. So is Seattle Seahawks tackle Charles Cross. Smith will cost the Cowboys $23.4 million in 2026.

Linderbaum would’ve cost the same as Smith. Because performance now determines a player’s fifth-year cost, and because Linderbaum has made multiple Pro Bowls on the original ballot, he would have been entitled to a 2026 salary equal to the franchise tag tender at his position.

Unlike skill position players on offense, Linderbaum is classified not by his individual position, center, but by his position group, offensive line. (One of the oddities of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is that it distinguishes between defensive ends and defensive tackles but not offensive tackles and interior offensive linemen.)

So, had the Ravens exercised Linderbaum’s fifth-year option, they would have owed him the 2025 average of the top five offensive line salaries over the previous five years, a figure inflated by the skyrocketing market for tackles. That could have been a significant overpay — and a significant risk. Fifth-year options are guaranteed for injury when exercised, and Linderbaum missed nearly a month in training camp last year with a neck injury.

Only a handful of NFL guards make at least $20 million a year. No centers do. The four-year extension signed last year by Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Creed Humphrey, perhaps the NFL’s best center, is worth $18 million annually. The four-year extension that Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens signed last week is worth $17 million per year, behind only Humphrey.

“I was just made aware of that,” Linderbaum said of Jurgens’ deal this month. Along with Hamilton, he’s eligible for an extension for the first time this offseason. “He’s obviously one of the best centers in the league, a really high-caliber player, so I’m excited for him.”

DeCosta is a shrewd negotiator. Ravens officials should be happy to fork over $18.6 million to Hamilton in 2026; his fifth-year option costs $2.9 million less than the average annual salary of Detroit Lions star Kerby Joseph, who last week became the highest-paid safety in NFL history after agreeing to a four-year, $86 million extension. An extension for Hamilton would likely far surpass Joseph’s deal in total value.

Exercising Linderbaum’s option, however, would have ceded important leverage in contract negotiations, acknowledging his outsize value to a Ravens team that figures to be strapped for salary cap space in the near future. The front office’s financial picture in 2026 is already precarious enough, with a handful of salary cap spikes looming for big-name players.

Having declined Linderbaum’s fifth-year option, DeCosta can now work on an extension that’s cheaper in 2026 and more in line with the market for top-tier centers. If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement by next March, the Ravens could designate Linderbaum with the franchise tag as a last resort, an expensive placeholder option ($27.6 million, according to Over The Cap projections) while the team hammers out a deal. Another option is the transition tag, which would be worth a projected $25 million and allow the Ravens to match any offer sheet that Linderbaum signs with another team.

With the NFL draft over, DeCosta is expected to get back to business with the team’s homegrown stars. An extension for quarterback Lamar Jackson could set the table for the team’s next wave of contracts, just as Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s new megadeal spurred an offseason spending spree in Buffalo.

But big-money deals require patience. DeCosta, who labored for years to sign Jackson to his first extension, knows that better than anyone.

“I think I sat up here in 2019 and said we’re going to try to retain as many of our good young players as we can, and I think we’ve done that,” DeCosta said in January. “I’m proud of that, and I think you’ll see that continue this offseason.”