The New York Giants currently have about -$7.3 million in effective cap space, which means if fans were dreaming about a splashy, top-of-the-market free-agent signing come March, they might want to bottle that energy up a bit.
Ever since the Giants hired John Harbaugh as their next head coach, plenty of his former Ravens players have been floated as potential fits to follow him up I-95 and help jumpstart Big Blue. Tight end Isaiah Likely has been mentioned. So has versatile corner Marlon Humphrey. But no name has been floated out there more than Tyler Linderbaum, the 25-year-old, three-time Pro Bowl center.
Unfortunately, Linderbaum’s next contract is projected to be around four years and $71 million ($17.7 million annually), which doesn’t exactly line up with the negative cap space they're currently working with. But what if I told you there’s another Tyler out there, one who was surprisingly released by the Washington Commanders and might be the ultimate consolation prize?
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Commanders have parted ways with veteran center Tyler Biadasz, who just so happens to cost about a third of what the other Tyler is projected to make.
Giants might've just found their practical answer at center in Tyler Biadasz
The G-Men don’t technically need a starting center. They have John Michael Schmitz. But it’s been three years since they took him 57th overall, and we’re still waiting to see what made him the top center in the 2023 Draft class.
The 26-year-old isn’t exactly viewed as a cap casualty, but the Giants could save $3.9 million by moving on this offseason. According to Pro Football Focus, he hasn’t ranked inside the top 28 at his position in any of his three NFL seasons. JMS is entering the final year of his rookie deal this year anyway, so at some point you have to ask what we’re holding onto. Cut ties, move forward, and stop voluntarily being a year behind.
If general manager Joe Schoen actually wants to improve that brutal report card grade, Biadasz is sitting right there to fix a problem that’s been staring him in the face for years.
Biadasz brings something the Giants have been missing in the middle of their line for a while: stability. He’s 28, has more than 50 career starts, made a Pro Bowl, and has logged over 1,100 snaps in four straight seasons. He started 31 of 34 games the last two years and allowed just three sacks in 2025.
He also makes sense financially. Over the Cap values him at $5.6 million. He’s experienced in both zone and gap concepts. He can step into the lineup immediately, giving the Giants a reliable presence at a sneaky super-important position. At the same time, they sort out the rest of the offensive line around Andrew Thomas.
Linderbaum is the pipe dream. He’s worked under Harbaugh before, and he might be the league’s best center not named Creed Humphrey. But money complicates things. That’s where the other Tyler comes in. His contract makes sense, his experience makes sense, and for a Giants team trying to plug obvious holes without being free-agency poor, it just makes sense.