Coming back from an injury and with uncertainty about a contract extension, a lot of eyes of are going to be on Washington Redskins right guard Brandon Scherff. Will he have a bounce-back year in 2019?
With training camp just getting underway, there are a lot of intriguing players and storylines to keep an eye on at Redskins camp. One player that a lot of people are going to be watching is right guard Brandon Scherff, and this is for a couple of reasons.
One reason is that he is coming back from a torn pectoral muscle that cost him half of the 2018 season. Pectoral injuries can be troublesome, but Scherff is hoping to be ready for camp. He is one of the best guards in football, and the Redskins undoubtedly need him on the field.
Another reason is Scherff still has not been signed to a contract extension. It was recently reported that both sides are still far apart on a new one, and that is worrisome as Trent Williams is currently not expected to report to camp.
With Williams not at camp, Scherff is going to have to be the leader on the offensive line, at least along the interior line. Washington needs its two best linemen healthy and happy if this team is going to be competitive in 2019.
Scherff’s 2018 season with the Redskins
After being selected fifth overall in 2015, Scherff started every game he played in as a rookie and by his second year, was one of the best guards in the league as he made his first Pro Bowl.
In 2017, Scherff made his second-straight Pro Bowl. The 2018 season started the same as his previous two seasons, with Pro Bowl level play from the right guard position.
Unfortunately for Scherff and the Redskins, he tore his pectoral muscle in a Week 9 game against the Atlanta Falcons. After tearing his pec, Scherff was placed on IR and his season was done. For the season, Scherff started and played in eight games while being a key contributor to their surprising 6-2 start.
It seemed that once Scherff went down for the season, the offensive line was not the same. While there were a plethora of injuries along the interior line later on, it was clear that the Redskins were missing their Pro Bowl-caliber guard on the right side.
What Brandon Scherff needs to show at Redskins Training Camp
Going into Redskins training camp, there are a couple of things that Brandon Scherff needs to show. One is that he is fully recovered from the pectoral injury that ended his 2018 season prematurely.
As mentioned earlier, pec injuries can be troublesome, but his injury occurred back at the start of November 2018, so he has had a decent amount of time to recover and get himself back and ready for the 2019 season.
It is entirely possible for Scherff to come back just as good after a torn pectoral muscle in a relatively short period of time. Just look at fellow Redskins teammate Fabian Moreau who tore his pec at his pro day at UCLA back in March 2017, and still played in the Redskins season opener in September. Scherff has said himself that he’ll be ready to go for training camp.
The other thing to watch for with Scherff is his contract situation and how that is going to affect his play or the team, which I doubt it will. Scherff has been a professional up to this point about it, and that shouldn’t change.
Some players are very vocal when voicing their displeasure with their current contract situation. Scherff has done nothing of the sort. It would be prudent for the Redskins to try to lock him up sooner rather than later, so it doesn’t become a distraction like it was with Kirk Cousins.
Brandon Scherff’s main competition at Redskins training camp
Going into camp, Brandon Scherff is not going to have any competition at right guard. He is one of the best young guards in the league and is going to be paid like one in due time having to block guys like Fletcher Cox twice a year.
The main competition is going to be who backs up Scherff. After Scherff went down last year, Tony Bergstrom, who was the backup center, started at right guard before he went down also. Once he went down, Austin Howard, Luke Bowanko, and Zac Kerin filled in before Bergstrom played the finale.
Tyler Catalina, Tony Bergstrom, and recently drafted Ross Pierschbacher, who can also play multiple positions along the interior and has a lot of promise, will compete for a backup spot. The competition for the backup spot and starting left guard will be the battles to watch within a fairly set offensive line.
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The biggest thing with Scherff going into training camp is going to be like anyone else coming off of a season-ending injury, getting reacclimated to the speed of the game and used to contact again. Mentally, he will be impacted as well and knowing that surgically repaired pectoral muscle is going to hold up can be an obstacle.
Some athletes struggle with that part of an injury. But this isn’t the first time Scherff has had an injury that cut his season short, as he had one cut short at Iowa, so he knows what to expect coming back.
By the end of camp, once he gets back into the mix and the rust off of an extended offseason, expect to see the same Brandon Scherff we’ve grown accustomed to seeing out there, as he is about as good as it gets at the position.
Brandon Scherff’s outlook for the Redskins 2019 season
Like any player who is among the best at their position, Scherff’s outlook for 2019 should be a positive one. He is going to have the chance to prove that coming back from a season-ending injury he is still among the best at his position as he hopes to secure a long term deal that could potentially make him among the highest-paid guards in the league.
Scherff likely would have made his third straight Pro Bowl last year had it not been for the injury as he was playing at a very high level again. Assuming he stays on the field for a majority of the season in 2019, Scherff should expect to be named to his third Pro Bowl in an impressive young career already.
Whether or not they start Dwayne Haskins, the Redskins are going to want a solid running game to help compliment a potential top ten defensive unit. Whichever quarterback they decide to go with is also going to need to be kept upright and given a clean pocket. That is going to start with Brandon Scherff.
While the team as a whole has dealt with injuries in the last couple of years, the dropoff in play along the offensive line was impossible to miss last year after he went down. Scherff was the fifth overall pick the 2015 draft for a reason. He is a cornerstone piece, and the Redskins desperately need him on the field in 2019 (and beyond) if they are going to be competitive enough to make a playoff push. Expect an excellent season from Scherff.