If the Miami Dolphins had hopes and aspirations of signing free agent guard Brandon Scherff in free agency this offseason, they’d better think again. The latest franchise tag rumblings from ESPN’s Jenna Laine indicate that Scherff is yet another high end talent that will not hit the open market thanks to the franchise tag.
Scherff, a former top-10 overall selection in the NFL Draft, is going to likely be tagged by Washington to ensure the team, which is under new management after the firing of Bruce Allen and the hiring of head coach Ron Rivera, has another season of control for the right guard.
It’s not a crippling decision for Miami’s offseason plans — mainly because Scherff’s durability is questionable at this point in time and his cost was likely to be an intimidating figure if he hit the open market. But the snowball effect will undoubtedly impact Miami.
With Scherff likely to receive the franchise tag, the cost of former New England Patriot guard Joe Thuney should see a bump — if Miami wants to continue their current pipeline from Foxborough to Miami Gardens, they’ll probably have to pay an even prettier penny to get the job done than what was already expected. And Thuney was already expected to demand $14- to $15M per season on average before the Scherff report dropped.
Free agency is a dangerous game, as the Miami Dolphins know all too well. And callously committing resources in free agency a few too many times will put this team right back where it started: in salary cap hell. So the Dolphins must take this news in stride and have a plan A, plan B and plan Z for where to pivot if the spending on their top line options balloons out of control.
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