Redskins reportedly leaning toward keeping starting offensive guards

The Redskins offensive line is a bit of a question mark for the 2020 season, but almost all the answers needed to shore up the unit rest inside the building.

The Washington Redskins are in flux as a franchise, with Ron Rivera ushering in a new era of D.C. football. But despite the team’s position at the start of a crucial rebuild, there are pieces in place to add up to eventual success. Dwayne Haskins showed promise at quarterback last season, the defense has a nice core of young talent, and there’s a lot of money to work with in free agency, especially after last week’s cuts.

Redskins coach Ron Rivera has been in deliberations since early this month, evaluating the current roster, which he inherited from the previous regime. Few concrete decisions toward player futures have been publicly made, but per reports from NBC Sports’ Julie Donaldson, the new Redskins braintrust may be leaning toward retaining both right guard Brandon Scherff and left guard Ereck Flowers.

Per Spotrac, Scherff’s market value in 2020 is set to sit around $12.4 million, but the three-time Pro Bowl guard could earn more if he were to facilitate a bidding war among NFL teams. The Redskins could ultimately prevent that from happening by either locking up Scherff long-term or using the franchise tag, which would cost around $15 million.

The franchise tag would use up almost a third of Washington’s current cap total, but it would lock down one of their key centerpieces on the offensive line. Per Donaldson, the Redskins may be leaning toward preserving that security, and maintaining their options for next offseason.

The decision to keep Flowers is almost an easier one to make; Flowers resurrected his career with Washington in 2020, providing stability at left guard. Early into his position change, he’s already providing new fire and quality play, and his enthusiasm at guard suggests he could continue trending up in his age-26 season in 2020. Flowers won’t command as much as Scherff, and rightly so, as Scherff is more established and a higher caliber player at this point. But Flowers is young and eager to keep growing in his new role, and Rivera may have seen this on tape.

It still remains to be seen how these two situations will be resolved, but per reports, the Redskins would like to keep their offensive line in tact for their young quarterback, as much as they can. Will Washington return with their three incumbent starters at left tackle, left guard, and right guard? Or will the 2020 offseason present more change than anticipated?