Redskins place franchise tag on offensive guard Brandon Scherff
The Washington Redskins have made a critical decision. They’ve franchise tagged right guard Brandon Scherff.
In each of the past two offseasons, the Washington Redskins have elected not to use their franchise tag. But this offseason, they will be using it to keep around a key member of their offensive line.
That player will be Brandon Scherff, as the team officially confirmed on Twitter. The former top-five pick out of Iowa was slated to become a free agent after playing 2020 on his fifth-year option. Keeping Scherff was the expected result of this offseason. The only question was about how.
Washington had reportedly been talking about a long-term deal with Scherff, but evidently, it didn’t get done. That’s not a major problem considering that the team had the option to tag him.
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There are pros and cons to tagging Scherff. The pros are obvious. He’ll be sticking around the team and will provide continuity on the offensive line. And considering that Scherff is coming off a bit of a down year due to injuries, the Redskins will get a chance to see if he’s fully healthy before committing to the 28-year-old long term.
The major con is that the Redskins are going to be paying a premium for Scherff’s services. The offensive line franchise tag is expected to be about $16.1 million per season, per OverTheCap.com, as there aren’t separate tags for tackles and guards. That will make Scherff the highest-paid guard in the league in terms of average annual value, albeit for just one season, so that isn’t exactly ideal.
Had the ‘Skins extended Scherff, he likely would’ve made about $14 million per season. So, they would be paying him $2.1 million less and would have more wiggle room under the cap to add other players. But in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t too big a deal and as mentioned, it gives them one more year to see if Scherff can stay healthy. And that may be the most important move.
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With Scherff locked up for at least one season, the Redskins can now turn their attention to their other key free agents. That will include left guard Ereck Flowers and linebacker Jon Bostic, among others, as the team looks to rebuild under Ron Rivera.