HEADLINES

Brandon Scherff

NFL Sets $182.5MM Salary Cap

March 10th, 2021 at 9:31am CST by Zachary Links

The NFL salary cap has been set at $182.5MM, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). This marks a sizable (though expected) drop from last year’s $198.2MM limit.

Teams will not be allowed to borrow cap room from future years, per the CBA, so teams are basically stuck with the hard cap and difficult choices ahead. However, teams do have other ways to navigate the cap, including rollover from 2020, post-June 1 cuts, and contract restructuring.

With the new salary cap, the league has also determined the values of this year’s franchise tag tenders (Twitter link):

  • Quarterback $25.104MM
  • Running Back $8.655MM
  • Tight End $9.601MM
  • Offensive Lineman $13.754MM
  • Defensive End $16.069MM
  • Defensive Tackle $13.888M
  • Linebacker $14.791M
  • Cornerback $15.06MM
  • Kicker/Punter $4.482MM

Here’s the full rundown of this year’s franchise tags, including players on repeat tags who receive a 20% increase:

Washington Franchises G Brandon Scherff

March 8th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

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.

WFT Looking To Extend Brandon Scherff

February 22nd, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Zachary Links

The Washington Football Team can keep Brandon Scherff from the open market with a second franchise tag. However, the team remains focused on ironing out a long-term extension with the standout offensive guard, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

The franchise tag window runs from Tuesday through March 9. Washington, in theory, could tag Scherff and take the negotiations from there — the franchise tag extension period would give them roughly four months to work with, before the July 15 deadline. That second tag would come at a 20% increase from his previous one, making it an $18.04MM salary for 2021.

The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement still lumps guards, tackles, and centers into the same offensive lineman bucket, which effectively means that the tag pays Scherff as an elite tackle. Typically, the tag increases leverage for the team. In Scherff’s case, it gives him solid ground to stand on.

Washington does have the cap flexibility to re-up Scherff for one year, but they’d much rather lock him down through his prime years with a smoother cap hit from year to year. A brand new deal could reset the market for interior linemen, giving him $15MM+ per year to trump Brandon Brooks‘ $14.1MM average annual value.

 

“I’ve always said I want to stay where I got drafted,” the Pro Bowler said recently. “And I’ve been here for six years, and I absolutely love it here. … We are building something here to absolutely make a run for it in the future.”

Scherff, who just turned 29 in December, has started in all 78 of his games for Washington.

Washington Activates Brandon Scherff

October 16th, 2020 at 2:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Washington will have its top offensive lineman available Sunday against the Giants. The team activated Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff, moving him from its IR list to the 53-man roster.

An MCL sprain paused Scherff’s season, but it appears he will only have to miss the three mandated games that come with a 2020 IR placement. While there are obviously other factors at play, Washington is 1-0 with Scherff playing a full game this season and 0-4 without him. Scherff’s absence certainly hurt Washington last week, when Aaron Donald beat both of Washington’s starting guards en route to a career-high four sacks.

Although Washington is not expected to contend for a playoff spot, even out of this year’s woeful NFC East, Scherff has some key games ahead. He has missed 16 games over the past three seasons, after only missing two from 2015-17. Washington slapped its franchise tag on Scherff this year, becoming the first team since the Patriots in 2011 to tag a guard. Scherff staying healthy the rest of the way would put him in position for a massive extension.

In his sixth season, Scherff will turn 29 this December. While the Iowa product has been one of the game’s best guards when healthy since being drafted fifth overall, his next contract will likely cover the remainder of his prime. That will make staying healthy paramount for Scherff to maximize his value — either with Washington or in free agency.

Washington Places Brandon Scherff On IR

September 22nd, 2020 at 9:39am CST by Zachary Links

The Washington Football Team has placed offensive lineman Brandon Scherff on injured reserve, per a club announcement. Scherff suffered an MCL sprain on Sunday against the Cardinals, which will keep him out of action for at least three weeks. In a related move, Washington promoted wide receiver Cam Sims from the practice squad. 

At minimum, Scherff will miss the next three games against the Browns, Ravens, and Rams. If he’s cleared in time, he’ll be eligible to return on Oct. 18 against the Giants at the Meadowlands.

Thanks to the franchise tag, Scherff is set to play out 2020 on a one-year, $15.03MM deal. The three-time Pro Bowler was the first guard to receive the franchise tag since 2011, and that’s largely due to the league’s arcane rules regarding offensive lineman. Per the collective bargaining agreement, guards and tackles are classified under the same “offensive lineman” banner. Those franchise tender salaries are calculated off of the average of the top five at any given position, and teams aren’t keen on paying tackle money to guards. At least, they haven’t historically been keen on that. Scherff is one of the better interior linemen in the league, and the cost of quality guards has risen dramatically.

Since entering the league as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Scherff has started in all 67 of his games. Unfortunately, he’s also missed a good chunk of time. Between 2018 and 2019, he was sidelined for 13 games. He’s one of the league’s very best interior protectors when he’s healthy, but the injury bug has unfortunately bitten him once again.

Redskins’ Brandon Scherff Won’t Sign Before Deadline

July 14th, 2020 at 12:03pm CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here, but Brandon Scherff‘s extension talks will be tabled until next year, according to sources who spoke with John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With that, the franchise-tagged offensive lineman is set to play out 2020 on a $15.03MM deal. 

[RELATED: Kelvin Harmon Tears ACL]

Scherff, a three-time Pro Bowler, signed his tag almost immediately, quelling any possibility of a holdout. He’s the first guard to receive the franchise tag since 2011, and that’s largely due to the league’s arcane rules regarding offensive lineman. Per the collective bargaining agreement, guards and tackles are classified under the same “offensive lineman” banner. Those franchise tender salaries are calculated off of the average of the top five at any given position, and teams aren’t keen on paying tackle money to guards.

Since entering the league as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Scherff has started in all 65 of his games. Unfortunately, he’s also missed a good chunk of time. Between 2018 and 2019, he’s been sidelined for 13 games. Still, he’s one of the league’s very best interior protectors when he’s healthy, and the Redskins are glad to have him in the fold.

In the long run, Ron Rivera would love to keep Scherff for years to come. But, as we’ve heard with just about every other franchise-tagged player, the current economic climate has brought extension talks to a screeching halt.

“I want to sign a long-term deal with them,” Scherff said earlier this year. “I love it there, and I’ve always said I wanted to be a Redskin for the rest of my career. So, hopefully we can work towards that.”

Latest On Redskins OL Brandon Scherff

July 7th, 2020 at 5:38pm CST by Ben Levine

It doesn’t sound like Brandon Scherff will sign a long-term deal with the Redskins. ESPN’s John Keim reports “there isn’t much optimism” that the franchise-tagged offensive lineman will ink an extension prior to the July 15th deadline.

[RELATED: Status Of Tagged Players Prior To July 15 Extension Deadline]

Earlier this offseason, the 28-year-old became the first guard to receive the franchise tag since 2011. He quickly signed that deal, and there was optimism from both sides that they’d agree to an extension. Keim notes that the organization has “expressed a desire to keep [Scherff] long term,” while the previous lineman indicated that he wants to stick around.

“It’s gone well,” Scherff said back in April. “Just pretty much sat down and talked to my agent — that’s what he’s there for — and I want to sign a long-term deal with them, too. I love it there, and I’ve always said I wanted to be a Redskin for the rest of my career. So, hopefully we can work towards that.”

If Scherff doesn’t sign an extension prior to the July 15th deadline, he’ll lock himself into a one-year, $15.03MM deal.

Washington drafted Scherff fifth overall back in 2015, and the Iowa product has since started all 65 of his NFL games. While he only missed two games from 2015-17, he’s been sidelined for 13 games over the past two seasons. When he’s been on the field, Scherff has been one of the NFL’s best offensive linemen, and he earned his third career Pro Bowl nod in 2019.

Status Of All 15 Tagged Players Prior to July 15 Extension Deadline

July 6th, 2020 at 7:19pm CST by Ben Levine

The clock is ticking for tagged players to sign extensions with their teams, per the league calendar.

July 15: At 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for any club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract with his prior club for the 2020 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the club’s last regular season game.

With less than nine days remaining until the deadline, let’s take a look at where each of the 15 tagged players stand.

Already Signed Tag

*Received transition tag (vs. franchise tag)

Haven’t Signed Tag, Won’t Hold Out

Haven’t Signed Tag, Threatening Hold Out

NFC Notes: Scherff, Cook, Winston, Giants

April 11th, 2020 at 10:53am CST by Ben Levine

As of right now, Brandon Scherff is set to play next season under the franchise tag. However, the three-time Pro Bowler is confident he’ll sign an extension with the Redskins.

“It’s gone well,” Scherff said of the negotiations (via Kyle Stackpole of Redskins.com). “Just pretty much sat down and talked to my agent — that’s what he’s there for — and I want to sign a long-term deal with them, too. I love it there, and I’ve always said I wanted to be a Redskin for the rest of my career. So, hopefully we can work towards that.”

After becoming the first guard to receive the franchise tag since 2011, Scherff signed his franchise tender relatively quickly. He’s set to make $14.8MM in 2020 under the tag.

Since being selected with the fifth-overall pick in the 2015 draft, Scherff has started all 65 of his regular season appearances. However, he’s been limited to only 19 games over the past two years thanks to a pair of IR trips.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFC…

  • Running back Dalvin Cook and the Vikings are also in the midst of extension talks, and the 24-year-old has made it clear that he wants to stick in Minnesota. “I definitely love Minnesota,” Cook told Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com. “I love everything the state has to bring. Being a kid, I was drafted (in 2017) from Miami (his hometown), so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I actually am happy where I’m at, and I would like to be in Minnesota long term.”  After compiling 1,135 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last season, Cook is set to make a base salary of $1.33MM next season.
  • Jameis Winston isn’t a bust, says the GM who drafted him. While the Buccaneers were eager to replace the former first-overall pick with a soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback, Jason Licht is still optimistic about Winston’s future in the NFL. “We have a lot of respect for Jameis,” the executive told ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “Jameis was still part of our plan if things went a different route. We’ve got a lot of respect for him. I thought he did a lot of great things, and anybody in our office or building would say the same thing. He did some spectacular things for us. I would never say that, personally — and I think I speak on behalf of the organization — that he’s a bust. I think he’s got a bright future ahead of him.” Last season, Winston led the league in passing yards (5,109) and interceptions (30).
  • The Giants “love” Iowa offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs, reports Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. While the front office has been infatuated with him since well before the combine, there are some who believe the Giants still won’t take him with the fourth-overall pick. In fact, some sources told Vacchiano that they believe the Giants will opt for another lineman in Alabama’s Jedrick Wills or Louisville’s Mekhi Becton.

Redskins’ Brandon Scherff Signs Franchise Tender

March 31st, 2020 at 1:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Brandon Scherff is officially headed back to Washington. The standout guard has signed his franchise tender to remain with the Redskins, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

As Schefter notes, him signing this early will require him to be at training camp, provided it proceeds as scheduled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scherff became the first guard to get franchise-tagged since all the way back in 2011. He’s set to make $14.8MM in 2020 under the tag. The tag system groups all offensive linemen together, which explains why it’s so rarely used on a guard. Scherff has certainly proved himself worthy of being the exception, making the Pro Bowl in three of the past four seasons.

The only time he didn’t make it in that span was in 2018, when he appeared in only eight games due to a torn pec. He was again banged up last year, missing five games with elbow and shoulder issues. The fifth-overall pick in the 2015 draft, Scherff is one of the few consistent players on Washington’s offense.

Given the continued uncertainty surrounding left tackle Trent Williams, it makes sense why the Redskins would want to take no chances with their other stud offensive lineman. The two sides still have until July to work out a long-term extension.

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