The opening of the legal negotiating window ahead of the NFL free agency period produced some major signings around the league. As rosters shuffle, Sports Illustrated is grading the moves of the busy team-building days.
For the Washington Commanders, their longest-tenured offensive player is moving on. Offensive lineman Brandon Scherff is expected to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The move earned a "C" grade from Sports Illustrated, indicating a satisfactory signing.
The 30-year-old Scherff, a former top-five pick, is finally out of Washington and will replace the departing Andrew Norwell in Jacksonville. The move would seem to be a slight upgrade in terms of skill set, though Norwell was no slouch and played 17 solid games for the Jaguars last year. He was a former All-Pro and was one of the bigger free agents signed by the Jaguars during the pre–Urban Meyer era.
Scherff is the first major move of the Doug Pederson–Trent Baalke partnership and signals an obvious desire to give Trevor Lawrence some time and space in the backfield. With the franchising of Cam Robinson, it’s clear the Jaguars have pivoted a bit in their evaluation of talent up front and aren’t exactly following the prevailing school of thought upstream. Scherff, when healthy, can anchor a side of the line and stabilize both the tackle and guard positions within his reach, but he has not played a full 16-game season since 2016.
Following seven seasons – and two franchise tags – it is likely that the Commanders were preparing for Scherff to depart and could replace him from within. Cornelius Lucas and Sam Cosmi could shift from right tackle to guard. Saahdiq Charles will also be in the mix.
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Washington pulled off an unpopular trade with fans by acquiring former Eagles and Colts quarterback Carson Wentz. He carries a cap hit of $28.3 million that eats up virtually all of the Commanders' remaining cap space for 2022. With the Wentz signing, their odds to win the NFC East only slightly improved shifted, and still behind the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Washington filled its biggest roster need with Wentz, but the team is still in a mini-rebuild and has 19 players ready to become free agents. That leaves a lot of holes on the roster and questions for the season. With Wentz under center, the offensive line will be without All-Pro Scherff, but should be in decent shape.
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