Washington Commanders contingency plan if Brandon Scherff leaves
By Hunter Noll
What if the Washington Commanders can’t re-sign Brandon Scherff? Here’s a contingency plan that could be put into place.
Brandon Scherff is the best guard heading into free agency this year, and it’s not particularly close. You’d think the Washington Commanders have a leg-up when it comes to signing him, seeing as that’s been his home for the entire run of his seven-year career. However, Washington still hasn’t struck a deal with him, putting it into doubt.
Scherff has made five Pro Bowls and has been first-team All-Pro once. It’s pretty obvious he should be their main priority in free agency this offseason. However, what if they don’t get him? What should the contingency plan be for the Commanders at the guard position if they do not bring back Brandon Scherff?
There are three options for Washington if Scherff leaves. In house, free agency, and the draft. All have positives and negatives.
Who could replace Brandon Scherff for the Washington Commanders?
For this, we’re going to skip the 2022 NFL Draft because there are too many variables there. For one thing, it feels pretty likely they’ll add at least one offensive lineman in the draft. But where is a big question.
The Commanders have much bigger needs and should focus on them first. Where in the draft they take any offensive linemen depends on who they get earlier.
As for in-house, Wes Schweitzer is solid. But it’s Saahdiq Charles that has the potential in my opinion. If Washington doesn’t make any big moves, it should be to give Charles a chance and see what he can do. There’s legitimate superstar potential in the LSU product. He’s shown glimpses of greatness and was highly touted as a prospect coming out of College.
The most intriguing part about Charles is that he’s only 22. If it works out, Washington now has an elite guard at the position for another decade-plus.
When it comes to free agency, it’s tough because everyone is such a big step-down from Scherff. Yes, the in-house options are the same case – but you don’t have to throw extra money at them. It would hurt to have to pay someone close to Scherff money just to not get Scherff production.
However, there are some interesting options. Trai Turner, Andrew Norwell, and Laken Tomlinson all jump out at me.
Tomlinson is coming from the San Francisco 49ers. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he stays put though. They have a great offensive line and are a good team. It makes sense to keep everything rolling there.
Turner spent 2021 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and had a nice year. He’s likely going to get a bump in pay due to that. However, the Steelers have a lot of moving parts and Washington might be able to snatch him up.
Finally, Norvell spent last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Maybe not his best year but still a really solid option and could return to his peak performance in the right situation. No reason for him to go back to Jacksonville. They have a lot of issues and he wasn’t at his best in 2021. Seems like everyone would want to move on. This feels like the most likely option in free agency if Scherff leaves.
The Washington Commanders will definitely want to find a way to keep Brandon Scherff. He’s one of the best offensive linemen in football. Washington has one of the better lines as well, so keeping your best piece would probably be a good move.
However, if they can’t get a deal done there are some other options. Personally, I like the idea of finding out what they have in Saahdiq Charles. But there are a number of great routes they could go in the draft and free agency. Hopefully, they don’t even have to worry about a contingency plan though.