{"id":45481,"date":"2025-05-02T00:15:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T00:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45481"},"modified":"2025-05-02T00:15:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T00:15:03","slug":"report-ravens-2026-cap-situation-is-complicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45481","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Ravens’ 2026 Cap Situation is Complicated"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Baltimore Ravens will be paying a lot of money to just a few players in 2026.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Baltimore<\/picture><\/figure>\n
Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta watches warm ups against the Pittsburgh Steelers. \/ Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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