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The Washington Football Team placed the franchise tag on Brandon Scherff Monday, and he signed the tender yesterday. This locks him in for a 1-year deal worth $18.04 million. If Scherff didn't sign the tender, the team would have had the option to rescind the tag which was highly unlikely to happen.
Now that Scherff has signed, the team has a few options. Their priority is to sign their All-Pro right guard to a long-term deal. This has been their goal for the last 3 years, but so far they have not been able to get that done. If they don't work out a deal before the July 15th deadline, Scherff will play this season on the tag. Washington won't be able to start negotiating a new deal until the season is over. If no deal is reached before the new league year starts next March, he enters free agency for the first time.
Washington G Brandon Scherff has signed his franchise tag tender. Another player locking in the money now, with the hopes of a long-term deal before July 15.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 12, 2021
The other option is to trade Brandon Scherff to a team that wants him and is actually able to work out a long-term deal with him. This doesn't seem likely to happen, but it is available if negotiations sour before the deadline.
Ron Rivera said that he was responsible for the decision to tag Scherff. Rivera has clearly been in charge of the team since being hired to lead a coach-centric organization. Washington hired some new executives this offseason including Martin Mayhew as GM and Marty Hurney as Executive Vice President of Football/Player Personnel. Rivera is obviously very high on Scherff, and said, it had been “my decision and my decision alone” to tag Scherff.
Rivera said the team was focused on getting the players they want to keep locked up long-term. This group clearly includes Scherff, and likely several of the players on their stacked defensive line. The question again this year is whether or not they will actually be able to get it done with the All Pro guard. He has said repeatedly that he wants to be in Washington long-term, but it continues to look more likely that 2021 will be his last season in the Burgundy and Gold.