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Brandon Scherff

Trade Candidate: Brandon Scherff

October 27th, 2024 at 3:04pm CST by Ely Allen

Since leaving his long-time Washington home, career right guard Brandon Scherff has not been the perennial Pro Bowl player he once was. Still, Scherff is a reliable veteran starter that would improve many teams’ offensive lines. That’s perhaps why many organizations are now reaching out about trading for the 33-year-old, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Scherff was a dominant guard during his time in Washington. After an impressive rookie season, there was a stretch during which Scherff made five Pro Bowls in six seasons, only missing out during a season that saw him miss half the season on injured reserve. Two years after his only first-team All-Pro season, Scherff signed as a free agent in Jacksonville. While his three years with the Jaguars certainly haven’t seen him excel in a new city, his availability and experience are well worth taking a flyer on for teams making a push late this season.

Notably, the Jaguars have already shown a willingness to sell off contributing pieces, shipping out defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris two weeks ago to Seattle. This willingness to participate in trades has multiple teams working on other veterans like Scherff and left tackle Cam Robinson.

Coming into today, the Jaguars were third in the AFC South with a 2-5 record, with only the lowly Titans (1-5) behind them. If Jacksonville is unable to start turning things around, it’s going to be difficult to turn down decent offers for some veteran players. With Scherff on the final year of his three-year contract, it makes sense to take what they can get before losing him for nothing in free agency.

Jags Restructure G Brandon Scherff’s Contract; LB Caleb Johnson To Reach Free Agency

March 10th, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars will have stability along the offensive line in 2024. Right guard Brandon Scherff‘s deal has been restructured, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. News of the sides working on an adjusted deal was first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

[RELATED: Jaguars Re-Sign Ezra Cleveland]

Scherff was set to count nearly $24MM against the cap this season, leaving some to label him a potential release candidate. Instead, this agreement will ensure he remains in Duval County for at least one more year. Schefter notes the five-time Pro Bowler will receive a fully-guaranteed salary of $15MM for 2024 with a $5MM lower cap hit than he previously had. Three void years already existed on the deal after next season, and that will remain the case.

The former Commanders All-Pro re-worked his deal last offseason, creating the likelihood of a repeat taking place in 2024. Scherff will play out the final campaign of his three-year Jags pact given today’s move, though, setting him up for an interesting walk year. The 32-year-old has not replicated his level of play from his Washington tenure so far in Jacksonville, with his PFF evaluations over the past two years (59, 67.3) marking the worst of his career.

While Scherff will remain in place moving forward, the same may not be true of linebacker and special teamer Caleb Johnson. Team and player could not reach agreement on a new deal in the latter’s case, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Johnson was on track to be a restricted free agent, meaning Jacksonville’s inability to work out a deal is also a sign no tender will be coming his way. The right of first refusal tender would have cost $2.99MM, more than Johnson’s career earnings to date.

The 25-year-old has bounced around to a number of teams, but he has spent the past two seasons in Jacksonville. He has not missed a game during that span, playing exclusively on special teams. Safety Daniel Thomas is also best known for his third phase work, and he has been re-upped on a two-year deal. With Thomas remaining in the fold, Johnson will be able to join a new team once the new league year begins on Wednesday.

Jaguars Optimistic On Evan Engram Deal, Want To Retain Jawaan Taylor

March 1st, 2023 at 3:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Jaguars transition from spending wildly in 2022 to a 2023 free agency period featuring little action in terms of outside hires, they are going down to the wire with two priority players.

The Jags’ interest in re-signing Evan Engram has been on the radar for a while, but Jawaan Taylor is also a keeper candidate for the resurgent team. GM Trent Baalke confirmed Engram and Taylor talks are ongoing, as the Combine annually ignites discussions between teams and key free agents.

Engram has joined Taylor in indicating he would like to stay in Jacksonville, and NFL.com’s James Palmer points to optimism a deal will be reached (Twitter link). Particularly with Engram, this will be a time-sensitive matter. The Jags have not ruled out tagging either Engram or Taylor, but with the tight end tag checking in at barely $11MM, Engram profiles as the likelier candidate to be cuffed. It would cost the Jags $18.2MM to tag Taylor.

“I think with Jawaan and Evan, I don’t want to speak for them, they know how we feel about them, and I think we know how they feel about us, and there’s a win-win in there somewhere. We’ve just got to get to that,” Baalke said, via the Florida Times-Union’s Demetrius Harvey. “We’ve got a nice window here before free agency starts, and our goal is to try to close those deals within that window.”

Given Engram’s interest in coming back, it should not be considered a lock the Jaguars will lose the seventh-year veteran if they pass on tagging him by the March 7 deadline. But that is the failsafe point for the Jags, who gave the ex-Giants first-rounder a one-year deal worth $9MM in 2022 and saw him produce a single-season franchise record for tight end receiving yards (766). Engram, 28, staying would further strengthen Jacksonville’s receiving corps, which has Christian Kirk, Zay Jones and Calvin Ridley under contract.

Taylor’s path is a bit more complicated. The Jags already tagged left tackle Cam Robinson twice, eventually extending him last year. The tackle landscape reveals the either/or decisions teams have made recently regarding payments; clubs with big-ticket left tackle deals on their respective payrolls have not doled out much money to right tackles. Robinson’s $17.9MM-per-year pact ranks seventh at left tackle. The Jags have Walker Little as a possible option to succeed Taylor, who would be poised to do well on the market, with dependable O-linemen being coveted commodities annually.

Robinson’s meniscus tear, however, clouds the Jags’ plans here. Robinson would tentatively be on track to return by Week 1, but Doug Pederson confirmed his potential unavailability factors into the Taylor talks. Taylor, 25, has never missed a game as a pro.

The Jags do have more money to work with as they navigate these negotiations now. They recently restructured the contracts of Kirk, Jones, Brandon Scherff and Foye Oluokun, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter links). Altogether, this created $36MM-plus in cap space. Jacksonville has boosted its total to $16.1MM, as of Wednesday afternoon.

The team has re-signed Roy Robertson-Harris to a three-year, $30MM deal, keeping the D-line starter off the market. That contract is already factored into the team’s updated payroll. Engram and/or Taylor may follow suit; each would be free to negotiate with other teams beginning March 13.

Brandon Scherff Intends To Sign With Jaguars

March 14th, 2022 at 12:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

One of the biggest free agents amongst offensive linemen – and in this year’s class overall – may have found his destination. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that Brandon Scherff “intends” to sign with the Jaguars. It’s a three-year, $49.5MM deal for Scherff, including $30MM guaranteed and $33MM paid out through the first two years (via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Twitter).

[RELATED: Jaguars To Sign Foye Oluojun]

The 30-year-old had spent his entire seven-year career with Washington. The three most recent of those campaigns each earned him trips to the Pro Bowl, bringing his career total to five. 2020 also saw him recognized with first-team All Pro honors for the first time. PFF assigned him an overall grade of 73.6 in 2021, which continued his trend of consistent, high-level play.

A first round pick out of Iowa, Scherff has long been considered one of the top offensive linemen (at any position) in the NFL. Size, athleticism, technique and strength have never been an issue for him. Availability, however, has. He has missed 14 games over the past three years, which was part of the reason for a growing riff between him and the team.

After playing two consecutive years on franchise tags, it became increasingly clear Scherff would be headed elsewhere. Washington reportedly offered a contract which would have made him the highest-paid guard in the league this time last year, but nothing could be agreed upon for a long-term pact.

With Scherff in place, the Jaguars have taken a massive step forwards in terms of protecting quarterback Trevor Lawrence. With left tackle Cam Robinson having been franchised tagged, the signing of an interior linemen represents, in the eyes of many, another sign that the Jags could draft Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson with the first overall pick in April’s draft.

Washington Offered Brandon Scherff Top Guard Salary; Sides Likely To Part Ways?

February 23rd, 2022 at 5:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Brandon Scherff became the second Washington player in five years to go through two franchise-tagged seasons, following Kirk Cousins. Like the former Washington starting quarterback, the team’s Pro Bowl guard appears headed elsewhere in free agency.

No significant movement between the Commanders and Scherff has taken place toward a long-term extension, John Keim of ESPN.com notes, adding the signs point to Scherff leaving soon. A third tag is not feasible for Washington, given that it would be a 44% markup from Scherff’s already-lofty $18MM salary last season.

Washington did try to lock down Scherff last year, however, with Keim adding the team made the veteran blocker an offer to become the league’s highest-paid guard. Scherff instead opted to play the 2021 season on the tag. Particulars of Washington’s proposal are not known, only that the deal would have pushed Scherff past Joe Thuney‘s $16MM-AAV guard pact. Thuney and Joel Bitonio are the NFL’s highest-paid guards, each earning $16MM on average. Scherff can expect to top that in free agency, with the salary cap set to return after its COVID-19-induced reduction.

When healthy, Scherff remains one of the NFL’s top guards. The former top-five pick has made the Pro Bowl in five of the past six seasons and earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2020. Of course, he has run into considerable injury trouble in recent years. The Iowa product has missed 23 games since the 2016 season, including five last year. An MCL sprain and a stay on the COVID list shelved Scherff in 2021.

This year’s guard market features some interesting talent. Although Scherff is the biggest name expected to be available, Laken Tomlinson, James Daniels, Mark Glowinski and Connor Williams are each on track for free agency. Scherff’s age (30) may impact the length of his deal, but he should be expected to finally cash in on a long-term accord after playing out his five-year rookie contract and being tagged twice.

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/20/21

December 20th, 2021 at 10:23pm CST by Ben Levine

A long list of players were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. We listed the players who landed on the list today, as well as those who were activated off the list:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE John Franklin-Myers, DB Sharrod Neasman

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

WFT Places Brandon Scherff On COVID-19 List

December 20th, 2021 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

Brandon Scherff will be placed on Washington’s Reserve/COVID-19 list (Twitter link via Ben Standig of The Athletic). With the All-Pro guard added to the tally, WFT currently has 16 players on the list headed into tomorrow’s game against the Eagles. 

[RELATED: WFT Activates Allen, Sweat]

Washington expects offensive lineman Matt Ioannidis to be cleared in time (Twitter link via Edward Ford of FOX 61), but everyone else’s status is TBD. That includes quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, which means that journeyman Garrett Gilbert could be in line to start.

Scherff, who turns 30 on Sunday, missed a total of 18 games from 2017-2020. So far this year, he’s suited up for just nine games and he’ll miss another this week. Playing on his second-straight franchise tag at a rate of $18.04MM, he’s scheduled for free agency in the spring.

Washington still has a 20% chance of making the playoffs, per the stats at Five Thirty Eight. But, at 6-7, a loss to the Birds would likely level those odds.

WFT’s Brandon Scherff To Miss Time

October 4th, 2021 at 12:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Washington guard Brandon Scherff has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL that will keep him out of action for 2-to-3 weeks (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Meanwhile, tight end Logan Thomas is considered week-to-week with his hamstring injury.

[RELATED: WFT’s Bostic Suffers Pec Injury]

Scherff missed a total of 18 games from 2017-2020, including an MCL issue that sidelined him for three games in last year. Now, he’ll add to that total en route to free agency. The two sides could not come to terms this summer, so the the All-Pro guard is playing out his second-straight franchise tag for a salary of $18.04MM. Barring any further setbacks, Scherff is still expected to net a record-setting contract. His tag already puts him at the top of the list for guards while Joe Thuney‘s $16MM/year deal leads the way for multi-year pacts.

Thomas, a one-time quarterback, is coming off of a career year with 72 catches, 670 yards receiving, and six touchdowns. His 72 grabs last year put him third among all tight ends while his yardage (670) put him seventh at the position. Through four games this year, he has a line of 12/117/2.

WFT’s Jon Bostic Suffers Pec Injury

October 4th, 2021 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

WFT linebacker Jon Bostic suffered a pec injury on Sunday (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). He’ll undergo an MRI today to determine the severity, but Washington is bracing for bad news.

Bostic was ruled out in the fourth quarter, following early exits for tight end Logan Thomas (hamstring), wide receiver Cam Sims (hamstring), and guard Brandon Scherff (knee). They went on to beat the Falcons 34-30 in Atlanta, but it was a costly victory.

Bostic never lived up to his second-round draft status in Chicago and barely played in New England. But, when he resurfaced with the Colts in 2017 and the Steelers in 2018, he found his footing as a starter. His best work has come in D.C. Bostic has did not miss a game between 2019 and 2020, starting in all but one of his games. Last year, he finished out with 118 tackles — a new career best — plus three sacks, six tackles for loss, three passes defensed, and one interception.

Now at .500, the WFT will travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints in Week 5.

Brandon Scherff, WFT Unlikely To Reach Deal

July 14th, 2021 at 9:22am CST by Zachary Links

Brandon Scherff is unlikely to have a long-term deal in hand by Thursday’s deadline (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Barring any changes, the All-Pro guard will play out his second-straight franchise tag, now worth $18.04MM. 

The two sides have been at this for a while now. As a 2015 first-round pick, Scherff has been extension eligible for more than three years. Instead, Washington has seen another tag situation near the point of no return. As the Kirk Cousins standoff showed, a third tag is unrealistic. Now, Scherff is ticketed towards free agency in March of 2022.

Washington clearly wants to keep Scherff, but that would require a record-shattering deal for interior linemen. Currently, the mantle is held by Chiefs guard Joe Thuney, who inked his $16MM/year contract in March.

Scherff finds himself in a good spot, though he’d probably like the security of a long-term deal given his injury history. The All-Pro has missed a total of 18 games across the last four seasons, including an MCL issue that sidelined him for three games in 2020. On the flipside, he’ll be the belle of the ball if he stays healthy and enters free agency at a relatively young 30 years of age.

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