4 free agents Commanders deserve credit for avoiding

1. Brandon Scherff

This one might come as a surprise, but yes, the Commanders deserve credit for letting Brandon Scherff test the market.

That was always expected to be the case after general manager Martin Mayhew revealed Scherff turned down a contract that would’ve made him the highest-paid guard in the NFL, but credit where it’s due for staying true to your word.

Expected to ink a massive deal on the open market, Scherff did exactly that with the Jaguars in the form of a three-year, $49.5 million contract with $30 mil guaranteed. The five-time Pro Bowler is now the highest-earning guard in the league based on annual average value at $16.5 million.

That’s a steep price to pay for a player who hasn’t played a full season since 2016, including an average of just 10.7 games since 2018. For as great as Scherff is when he plays, $30 million guaranteed and a combined $41.5 million cap hit spanning the 2023 and 2024 seasons doesn’t seem worth it, does it?

For the Jaguars? Probably. They need to do everything possible to protect Lawrence and Scherff was the best pound-for-pound guard available. For Washington? Probably not. Had they signed the 30-year-old, there’s no way they would’ve been able to keep JD McKissic, Bobby McCain, Cornelius Lucas and Cam Sims.

It sucks Scherff is gone, but it’ll be better for Washington in the long run.