Why Commanders are unlikely to use franchise tag this year

Despite signing Charles Leno to a three-year extension at the end of the season, the Washington Commanders aren’t permitted to many any further moves (extensions aside) until the start of the new league year on March 18.

The NFL’s legal tampering period gets underway two days earlier, when teams can officially initiate negotiations with pending free agents.

On Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST, though, the league’s franchise tag window opens and it will remain as such through March 8, leaving the Commanders with exactly two weeks to decide whether to tag any of their players.

A player who receives a franchise tag tender will get a one-year contract worth an average of the top-five highest paid players at his position over the past five years, or 120% of his current salary; whichever is greater.

The Commanders have made use of the franchise tag in recent seasons, but it’s highly doubtful that trend continues in 2022. Here’s why.

Don’t expect the Commanders to use the franchise tag this year.

Brandon Scherff is Washington’s most high-profile pending free agent, and thereby the most plausible franchise tag candidate.

However, he’s played on the tag the last two seasons, so he’d be due a handsome raise if the front office wanted to make it three in a row. In fact, Scherff’s cap hit on third-straight franchise tag would check in north of $25 million.

While the Commanders would like to keep Scherff in a perfect world, that sum would devour a chunk of their $31.89 million in available cap space.

The team has been unsuccessful trying to sign the five-time Pro Bowler to a multiyear extension for two years in a row and GM Martin Mayhew all but confirmed his departure when he revealed Scherff turned down a contract proposal that would’ve made him the highest-paid offensive guard in NFL history.

The bottom line is tagging Scherff would make him one of the most expensive lineman in the league, and that’s not conducive to a winning formula. After all, the highest-paid left tackle, whose value far exceeds either guard position, is Trent Williams and he’ll make $23 million next season.

The expectation is that Scherff has played his last down for Washington and will find a new home in free agency. Aside from the 30-year-old, the rest of the team’s pending free agents aren’t close to worth the franchise tag.

Though JD McKissic is comparable to Scherff in terms of his importance to the team, the Commanders shouldn’t even bother playing the 2022 season if they have the lifetime backup running back on the books for $12.54 million.

That would put McKissic on a similar playing field as Pro Bowl-caliber talents like Dalvin Cook ($12.6 million), Derrick Henry ($12.5 million), Nick Chubb ($12.2 million), and Aaron Jones and Joe Mixon (both at $12 million).

If McKissic does re-sign with Washington, he’ll do so at a price that actually reflects his market. The same can be said for the team’s other pending free agents, including Bobby McCain, Tim Settle, Cam Sims and Jon Bostic.

Apologies to any folks itching to see the Commanders make more moves, but it’s not coming in the form of a franchise tag this year.