The Detroit Lions need to protect their quarterback. Jared Goff was sacked 38 times in the 2025-26 season, the 8th-highest for any NFL quarterback. Crunch Time Sports' co-host Booner believes the solution lies in free agency.

He named four free agents who could be the Lions' center in the next season and said, "If you don't end up with one of those four guys at your center position and you say, 'Oh, let's roll with Tate Ratledge, we're going to be good.' Your offensive line's not rebuilt. What you're doing is you're doing what you did last year." So let's take a closer look.

Tyler Linderbaum

He is the man protecting Lamar Jackson ever since the Baltimore Ravens selected him in the 1st round (25th overall pick) of the 2022 NFL Draft. But they did not activate the 5th-year option in his 4-year rookie contract worth about $13.23 million.

During the 2025 regular season, he played 1,007 offensive snaps, with 536 pass-blocking snaps and 471 run-blocking snaps, all at center. Over that workload, he allowed 2 sacks, 1 quarterback hit, and 26 total pressures, and was flagged for 5 penalties.

Connor McGovern

The Dallas Cowboys drafted McGovern in the 3rd round, 90th overall, in the 2019 NFL Draft. He later signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency in March 2023 on a 3 year $22.35 million contract. He is a free agent now, and the Lions can bank on him to protect Jared Goff, as per Booner.

As a center, he recorded 1,037 offensive snaps, including 593 pass-blocking snaps and 444 run-blocking snaps in 2025. In that, he allowed 0 sacks, 2 quarterback hits, and 14 total pressures and committed 5 penalties.

Cade Mays

The Carolina Panthers picked Mays in the 6th round with pick 199 in the 6th round during the 2022 NFL Draft. In 2025, they gave him a 1-year restricted free-agent tender worth about $3.26 million. Now he is also a free agent ahead of the 2026 season.

In the 2025 regular season, he logged 726 offensive snaps, including 429 pass-blocking snaps and 297 run-blocking snaps. Across those snaps, he allowed 0 sacks, 3 quarterback hits, and 11 total pressures, while committing 2 penalties.

Tyler Biadasz was another name taken by the podcast host. But the Los Angeles Chargers have signed him on a 3-year deal worth $30M. That leaves us with: Tyler Linderbaum, Connor McGovern, and Cade Mays. Who do you think the Lions should go for?

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Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi