The Baltimore Ravens checked off two big items on their offseason checklist on Wednesday, exercising the fifth-year option on safety Kyle Hamilton while declining it on center Tyler Linderbaum.
Hamilton’s fifth-year option came in at around $18.6 million, roughly $3 million less than what the highest-paid safeties are making per year, so that one was a no-brainer. On the other hand, Linderbaum’s came in at around $23.4 million, over $5 million what the highest-paid centers are making as the fifth-year option accounts for all offensive line contracts. So, it’s easy to see why the Ravens declined that one.
Even with them only picking up Hamilton’s fifth-year option, though, they are in a bit of a bind when it comes to their salary cap situation.
According to Spotrac, the Ravens’ top five cap hits now take up 58.3 percent of their projected cap space for 2026, with Lamar Jackson’s $74.5 million alone taking up nearly a quarter of it. Compare that to 2025, where the top five cap hits only take up around 41 percent of their cap space.
Knowing that, it may come as a surprise that the Ravens still have around $52.8 million in projected cap space for 2026, which places them around the middle of the pack. The caveat, however, is that they currently have just 33 players under contract for 2026, tied for the fewest in the league.
Some of Baltimore’s projected 2026 free agents include Linderbaum, running back Derrick Henry, tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, edge rushers Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy, defensive lineman Travis Jones and safety Ar’Darius Washington. Even just re-signing the players they want to keep would prove very difficult, to say nothing of adding outside free agents.
Needless to say, the Ravens will have to pull off some cap gymnastics in the not-too-distant future. They can free up some cap space by either extending or restructuring Jackson’s contract, and it sounds like they will do just that soon. As for what other moves Eric DeCosta and co. could have and store, that remains to be seen.
