Brandon Scherff is finally set to hit the free-agent market, but the Pro Bowl guard hopes he doesn't leave Washington.
"I'd love to be here, and I hope I can end my career here," Scherff told reporters Monday, via the Washington Football Wire. "I said that the last couple of times, and that's always the goal for me, is to kind of finish where you started."
Scherff has been the recipient of the franchise tag for two straight years. A third tag would take his salary into QB money (north of $25 million), so that's highly, highly, highly, HIGHLY unlikely to happen.
With five-time Pro Bowl guards rarely hitting the open market, Scherff should cash in with a massive long-term deal, which he's been unable to obtain from Washington. So while the 30-year-old has repeatedly said he hoped to remain in D.C., the reality is that Scherff is more likely to get his long-term money elsewhere since the Football Team couldn't get a deal done the past three years.
"Fans should know we made every effort to get something done and we'll continue to work on that," Washington general manager Martin Mayhew said Tuesday, per ESPN.com. "We made an offer for him to be the highest paid offensive guard in the history of the NFL. We'll keep that dialogue to see where things go."
With a boatload of teams needing offensive line upgrades, Scherff should have a robust market come March.
The seven-year pro played just 11 games in 2021 and hasn't played a full-season slate since 2016. Scherff was already the highest-paid guard in per-year value, netting $18.036 million in 2021 on the franchise tag. He's in line to surpass Joe Thuney and Joel Bitonio, who are at $16 million per year on long-term deals. Thuney's $46.89 million guaranteed on his five-year, $80 million contract is most among guards.
