Two years into the Joe Hortiz-Jim Harbaugh regime, the Los Angeles Chargers have learned a lot about their team. After back-to-back 11-win seasons resulting in a wild card playoff loss, the Chargers know where their strengths and weaknesses lie.
Soon, the Chargers will have a chance to address their team’s needs when free agency kicks off on March 9. Their front office connections could help them in a potential pursuit of a three-time Pro Bowl center.
Recently, ESPN’s Kris Rhim reported that the Chargers could “make a push” to sign Tyler Linderbaum away from the Baltimore Ravens when free agency gets underway.
“Hortiz, however, has shown that he’d make somewhat of a big swing for a player he’s familiar with. That was clear when he traded safety Alohi Gilman and a fifth-round pick for Ravens edge rusher Odafe Oweh and a seventh-round pick in October. Oweh was a 2021 first-round pick who Hortiz evaluated.
ESPN’s Kris Rhim on Tyler Linderbaum
With that example, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Chargers make a push to sign Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, one of the top projected free agents and a player who Hortiz had a hand in selecting in the first round of the 2022 draft. Linderbaum was the league’s second-best pass-blocking center in pass block win rate (97.2%). Last season’s Chargers starter, Bradley Bozeman, ranked 30th (92.5%).”
In signing Linderbaum, the Chargers could land a proven solution for one of their biggest weaknesses. Yet, is Linderbaum ready to depart Baltimore for Los Angeles? If he was a big enough fan of John Harbaugh, playing for his brother Jim may be the next best thing. Plus, Hortiz helped draft Linderbaum 25th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft when he was Baltimore’s director of player personnel.
Or, maybe Linderbaum wants to stick around and see what his new offensive-minded head coach, Todd Monken, is capable of in Baltimore behind two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. Either way, Linderbaum is expected to have more than just the Chargers and Ravens to consider contract offers from this offseason. We’ll have an answer soon enough when free agency gets underway.
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