The offseason is barely a week old for the Washington Football Team, but there’s been no shortage of topics to discuss.
However, it speaks volumes that Brandon Scherff’s future — at least for the time being, anyway — is currently overshadowing the February rebrand and the impending search for a franchise quarterback, among other objectives.
After all, Scherff, drafted No. 5 overall by Washington back in 2015, is one of the franchise’s longest-tenured players.
With five Pro Bowls on his resume, he’s been a model of consistency at the guard position for the last seven seasons. However, he heads into the offseason without a contract for the third time in the last four years and all signs point to him testing the free agent waters and signing elsewhere.
Scherff’s future in the DMV became even murkier after GM Martin Mayhew revealed on Tuesday that he rejected a contract offer from Washington last offseason that would’ve made him the highest-paid guard in league history.
So, assuming Scherff has played his last snap for Washington, let’s highlight some potential landing spots for him in free agency.
4 potential landing spots for Brandon Scherff
4. Houston Texans
From a competitive standpoint, it wouldn’t make such sense for Scherff to join the rebuilding Houston Texans. However, if we learned anything about him over the last few years, it’s that money is his bottom line.
If the Texans come calling with a big-ticket offer, Scherff will take it, especially if it resets the market at the guard position.
The only caveat here is that Houston has a myriad of roster holes to address this offseason, so guard might not take centerstage. With that said, their running game ranked dead-last in the league this year at 83.6 yards per game.
While the Texans played better than their 4-13 record, they stand no chance at improving in 2022 if their rushing attack doesn’t improve. The easiest way to do that is to replenish the offensive line and adding Scherff’s and his 76.7 run grade from Pro Football Focus over the last three years would really help the cause.
Houston isn’t the sexiest of fits for the 30-year-old star, but David Culley is a players coach and we saw last offseason with signings like Tyrod Taylor, Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay, Desmond King II, Andre Roberts and Justin Britt that the Texans aren’t an afterthought when it comes to signing veteran free agents.
3. New York Jets
Not many teams in the NFL can afford to pay a guard between $18-20 million annually, but the New York Jets are one of them. Per Spotrac, Gang Green is projected to have the fifth-most cap space of any team at $53.774 million.
With Zach Wilson showing real promise over the final month of the regular season, the Jets can’t afford to have his sophomore season stunted by poor offensive line play. With Mekhi Becton and Alijah Vera-Tucker serving as preeminent building blocks, fans in the Big Apple have reason for hope.
Behind those studs, though, the Jets have a lot of questions up front.
Scherff’s fit with the Jets isn’t up for debate. The only thing blocking a potential agreement, assuming they’re interested, is GM Joe Douglas, who, if you remember, was reluctant to pay up for Corey Linsley last offseason.
That was a pretty puzzling move from Douglas, whose job security is undoubtedly baked into Wilson’s success, or lack thereof, after he drafted him over Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones at No. 2 overall.
Assuming upgrading the guard position is a top priority for the Jets this offseason, signing Scherff would make all the sense in the world. On top of consistent OL play, he’d bring veteran leadership to an offense that is largely comprised of inexperienced players who are trying to find their footing in the NFL.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers should be ashamed that they have a top-five quarterback talent in Justin Herbert and didn’t make the playoffs.
The offensive line obviously isn’t all to blame for that. An inability to stop the run on defense and some questionable head-coaching in high-leverage situations were arguably the biggest contributors to their downfall.
The good news for Chargers fans is that the front office has showed a willingness to protect Hebert by investing in the offensive line. Last offseason, they went out and added Corey Linsley and Bryan Bulaga in free agency before they drafted Rashawn Slater to be heir left tackle of the future.
While Linsley and Slater panned out, Bulaga looked ready for retirement, meaning LA has needs at both right tackle and guard. Speaking strictly in terms of the guard position, the Chargers have three players set to hit free agency, including Michael Schofield, Senio Kelemete and Storm Norton.
While Los Angeles has more important positions to address, they’re expected to be equipped with the most cap space of any team in the NFL at $72.595 million, so they should be able to afford Scherff without breaking a sweat.
1. Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins made headlines this week when they shockingly fired head coach Brian Flores after he won eight of nine games to finish the year and went 22-19 overall with Tua Tagovailoa and Ryan Fitzpatrick as his QBs.
Wherever you side in terms of whether Flores deserved the pink slip, the Dolphins now have one of the most appealing openings in the NFL. They have the assets to trade for a top-flight quarterback, are stacked at pass-catcher and have nice foundational pieces along the defense.
However, their offensive line, collectively, is a turnstile. While center and left tackle will take precedence over guard, it’s feasible Miami addresses the later two in the draft and splurges on a guard in free agency, especially if they’re unable to sign one of Terron Armstead or Cam Robinson to shore up the LT position.
If there was ever a team in the NFL we could see writing a blank check for Scherff, it’s the Dolphins. They pinched their pennies last offseason with an eye on the 2022 free agent cycle. As a result, they have $72.368 million in cap space to throw around, the second-most of any team behind the Chargers.
Don’t be shocked if Scherff finds a new home in Miami this offseason.