For the second straight March, Brandon Scherff will be part of a franchise tag transaction. Washington is again moving to cuff its top offensive lineman via the tag, NBC Sports Washington’s J.P. Finlay tweets.
Because Scherff played last season on the tag, he will carry a hefty price. It will cost Washington $18.04MM to tag the six-year veteran guard. The sides hope to finalize a long-term deal; doing so would lower Scherff’s 2021 cap number. Washington is set to carry plenty of cap space, however. Even after the tag, the team holds more than $35MM.
Scherff, who joined Joe Thuney last year in being the first guards tagged since 2011, has traveled the Jadeveon Clowney route by playing out a fifth-year option season and playing a subsequent season on the tag. Unlike Clowney, however, Scherff has now received a second tag. The clock is ticking on his ability to maximize his value. Despite being a 2015 draftee, the four-time Pro Bowl blocker will turn 30 later this year.
Washington ended a messy divorce with Trent Williams last year, leaving Scherff as its cornerstone O-lineman. While Scherff has battled a few injuries in recent years, he returned to top form after his most recent malady. Returning from an early-season MCL injury, Scherff played a key role in elevating Washington back to the playoffs. He earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in doing so.
Washington has until July 15 to finalize an extension with Scherff. Considering his lofty tag price, the team will likely continue efforts to extend Scherff ahead of free agency’s March 17 outset. The Iowa product’s tag price is far and away the highest salary for a guard this year. As far as long-term deals go, no guard is making as much in average salary as Scherff earned last year on the tag ($15MM). He stands to fetch a high price on an extension.
Shoulda let the guy walk for that price ..
That’s like 10% of this year’s cap…
He’s a guard not a LT.. $18 mill is ridiculous
As a Vikings fan, I beg you to reconsider the importance of good guard play.
A-fracking-men!
If this just acts as a placeholder deal while allowing them to work out the long-term contract he wants, it makes total sense.
And even if it doesn’t and they can’t work out the long-term deal, they still have oodles of cap space this year with which to build the team.
Smart move!
Yep crazy, just like the high high draft pick that took him…. crazy. Just more stupid decisions guys.
Tag & trade candidate?
Who’s going to want that salary for a guard and to give up a pick most likely.
Scherrf is a good player, but he’s a guard. You should always spend your big money on difference makers.
It’s nearly impossible to be a “difference maker” without support though. Josh Allen is a great example. He struggled badly until the Bills got him OL support and then he had a major breakout.
Tagging Scherff is not quite as silly a move as it looks. The Redskins get another year of Scherff’s services and then let him walk next year and enjoy a third round draft pick. Either way the Redskins get that third round draft pick. This way they eke out one more year of peak pro bowl Scherff with no long term injury risk on a big guaranteed deal.
Thumbs up, although I think everyone involved wants a long-term deal.
Comforting and reassuring to know that Washington D C
will continue to have a SCHERFF to enforce the law.
Another tag essentially closes the deal on reworking a second contract-if Scherff actually plays the season on it. I personally don’t think there’s much chance that negotiations are over. Even with that cap space, $18 million for a guard is ludicrous. If this tag is anything less than a placeholder, Washington has already given on signing Scherff this year. Maybe they think that they’ll use his age 30 year and let him walk. Otherwise, they will have a contract in place by the July deadline.
The fact that they felt that this was necessary though does make think that they are far apart on a price tag-aside from the usual complications of changing the person that you’re negotiating with after a year since the previous attempt (in reference to Washington’s office and coaching changes).