Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, citing people familiar with the situation, reports that Washington could once again use their franchise tag on G Brandon Scherff for the second straight year. However, Jhabvala adds that Washington appears to be more interested in signing Scherff to a long-term extension.
According to Jhabala, extension talks between Scherff and Washington are expected to begin in the coming days.
A second franchise tag would cost Washington around $18.04 million fully guaranteed for the 2021 season. Washington is expected to have in the neighborhood of $38 million of cap room, so while they could afford it, that kind of salary would clearly impact their ability to round out their roster.
Scherff has made it clear that would like to remain in Washington long-term.
“I’ve always said I want to stay where I got drafted,” Scherff said after the season. “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.”
Jhabvala says it’s widely believed Scherrf could reset the guard market and top the $14.1 million per year the Eagles are paying Brandon Brooks.
Scherff, 29, is a former No. 5 overall pick by Washington out of Iowa in the 2015 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year, $21.215 million fully guaranteed rookie contract and is playing out the fifth-year option on that deal.
Washington picked up Scherff’s option in 2018 and paid him $12,525,000 for the 2019 season and opted to franchise him last year. He’s once again in line to test the open market this offseason.
In 2020, Scherff appeared in 13 games for Washington and making 13 starts for them at guard.
We have him included in our Top 100 – 2021 Free Agents list.
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