Brandon Scherff has spent his entire career in the nation's capital and will continue to play there in 2021. Beyond this season, there are no guarantees.
The Washington Football Team and Scherff are not expected to reach a long-term deal by Thursday's deadline for franchise tagged players, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Wednesday's news means Scherff will play under the franchise tag for a second straight season, making $18 million to continue his rock-solid career that reached a new height in 2020 when the guard was named an All-Pro for the first time.
The four-time Pro Bowler turns 30 in December but seems to have plenty of good football ahead of him, provided he can stay healthy, which has been somewhat of an issue in recent seasons. Scherff hasn't played a full season since 2016, but has played in double-digit games in all but one year (2018). 2020 was a nice bounce back in this regard, with Scherff appearing in 13 regular-season games on his way to the aforementioned All-Pro recognition.
Scherff will hope to continue this positive momentum in Ron Rivera's second season at the helm of the Football Team. After its conclusion, we'll see which teams are ready to throw a bag of cash at him.
In other franchise tag-related news:
- The Buccaneers and wide receiver Chris Godwin are not expected to reach an agreement on an extension by Thursday's deadline, Rapoport reported, per sources. However, the team will work to keep Godwin long-term next offseason, Rapoport added. As noted by Rapoport, it's a similar situation to that of Bucs defensive end Shaquil Barrett, who played on the franchise tag last season and received an extension this offseason.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Thursday that the Bucs and Godwin were unlikely to reach an agreement and nothing's changed. Following a Pro Bowl 2019 campaign in which he had north of 1,000 yards receiving, Godwin turned in 65 catches for 840 yards and seven touchdowns in Tampa Bay's 2020 Super Bowl season.
- The Jaguars are not expected to reach a long-term extension with tackle Cam Robinson by Thursday's deadline, Rapoport reported.
Robinson was undoubtedly the most surprising recipient of a franchise tag this offseason (and perhaps ever) in what amounted to the Jaguars protecting against losing their starting left tackle when they were less than two months from spending the No. 1 overall pick on a franchise quarterback. Robinson will make significantly more money -- $13.754 million in total -- under the tag than he likely would have on a multi-year deal in 2021, so this news comes as little surprise.
