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- Mar 20, 2019
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The expectation around the league has been that Washington would apply the franchise tag to right guard Brandon Scherff if they couldn’t work out a long-term deal by Monday’s deadline, but it appears they won’t go down to the last minute before making a call.
The team announced Saturday that they have applied the franchise tag to Scherff.
It’s no surprise that Washington wants to hold onto Scherff as the 2015 first-round pick has been one of the team’s best players for much of his time in the NFL. The only surprise comes from the fact that guards rarely receive the franchise tag because the salary is tied to the highest-paid offensive linemen regardless of position and tackles command a higher price than their mates on the interior.
Former Patriot Logan Mankins was the last guard to get a franchise tag and that came in 2011. Center Alex Mack was the last non-tackle to receive any kind of tag when he got the transition tag from the Browns in 2014 and wound up signing a long-term deal after the Jaguars signed him to an offer sheet.
The salary for a player playing out the year on the offensive line tag is expected to be more than $15 million for the 2020 season.