Now that the New York Giants have hired John Harbaugh as their new head coach, more than just hope is returning to the Big Apple. For the first time in what feels like forever, the Giants look like an attractive free agent destination, especially for players Harbaugh has coached before in Baltimore.
The big name that's been floated around for Big Blue in free agency is Ravens' star center Tyler Linderbaum, which Bleacher Report's Alex Kay penciled in as a top free agent fit. And if you ask any Giants fan, they won't complain, especially because of how awful the offensive line has been recently.
However, a splash signing like Linderbaum comes with a harsh reality: it would more than likely end John Michael Schmitz' career in New York. Through three NFL seasons, JMS has never been able to put everything together, but knowing this team's luck, he'll manage to revive his career elsewhere.
A reunion between John Harbaugh and Tyler Linderbaum will be the nail in the coffin for John Michael Schmitz's Giants' future
He was a legit nightmare in his first two seasons, but was at least playable in 2025. After setting the world on fire in college, he presented Giants' fans with high expectations right off the bat, but failed to ever live up to them, allowing 11 sacks and nearly 60 pressures between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
The 26-year-old turns 27 next month and will be a free agent after next season, so unless he has a major bounce-back in a contract year in 2026, he's as good as gone next offseason anyway. Fans have been clamoring for Joe Schoen to move on from him, but as usual, he hasn't listened... until now.
On the bright side, Schmitz' pressure numbers were cut in half from 2024 to 2025, but the Minnesota product still wasn't great. He proved he can at least be playable, but is still a long way from being a game-changer, which is what Linderbaum, a three-time Pro Bowler, would be for the G-Men's OL.
Signing the 25-year-old will present Harbaugh with a reunion with a player he drafted in Baltimore, while fortifying a weaker unit. They produced well in 2025 despite not having much talent, but now that Carmen Bricillo is now Carmen Tennessee, the OL scheme may change under Mike Bloomgren.
Schmitz isn't someone anybody should cry about losing, especially if his replacement is one of the best centers in the NFL. But what it would be is another pathetic ending to a player both Schoen and the fanbase had high hopes for, which would end exactly how it typically does for the Giants.