Washington Football Team: Five questions to answer in free agency
By Ian Cummings
No. 5 – Will the Washington Football Team re-sign in-house free agents?
Before the Washington Football Team decides what to do on the open free agent market, they have to choose how to deal with their in-house free agents. The list is a relatively long one, but there are only two players who might command top billing. That exclusive sect includes only Brandon Scherff and Ronald Darby.
Scherff, who turned 29 years old this past December, might command top guard money. The former Iowa product is coming off his fourth Pro Bowl season and his first All-Pro campaign in six years. Darby, meanwhile, played all sixteen games opposite Kendall Fuller and had one of his best seasons, deflecting 16 passes and allowing a passer rating of just 81.0.
Scherff and Darby are the most consequential in-house free agent prospects. Scherff may command over $13 million in average annual value, while Darby’s contract may near $10 million. But beyond that, there are other decisions to make as well. Will Dustin Hopkins, an above-average kicker in the NFL, be re-signed? Will Kevin Pierre-Louis be brought back after a decent year? Will the team cut Reuben Foster loose after placing him on IR last offseason?
The good news is, Washington’s in-house free agent pool isn’t very deep. After Scherff, Darby, Pierre-Louis, and Hopkins, there aren’t many costly prospective deals. Ryan Kerrigan is on the list, but he’s almost certainly set to leave. The same goes for players like Fabian Moreau and Ryan Anderson. Will Washington’s financial freedom allow them to retain Scherff and Darby? Or do they have other plans in mind?