Jaguars beefing up O-Line with addition of Pro Bowl OG Brandon Scherff

The Jacksonville Jaguars are making it clear they don’t want to be pushed around at the line of scrimmage. The imminent signing of offensive guard Brandon Scherff shows they aren’t afraid to spend big to make upgrades to their offensive line in free agency.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Jaguars intend to sign Scherff. As of this writing, the terms of a potential agreement haven’t surfaced but it’s a good bet that the Jags are giving the veteran guard a top-market contract.

A first-round pick by the Washington Commanders in the 2015 NFL Draft, Scherff has been among the top guards in the league, earning multiple Pro Bowl selections and a First-Team All-Pro designation in 2020. Last season, the Iowa product allowed no sacks and posted a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 73.6. He’s never earned a grade below 72.0 throughout his seven-year career.

This is the first time Scherff entered the open market. The Commanders applied the franchise tag on consecutive years but using it a third time would have paid him a cost-prohibitive $25.92 million in 2022, as he would have gotten a 144 percent raise of his salary the prior year ($18 million).

 By pursuing Brandon Scherff, the Jaguars are pulling no punches.

Once the Jaguars re-signed interior lineman Tyler Shatley and tagged left tackle Cam Robinson, signing Terron Armstead in free agency seemed unrealistic. Instead, general manager Trent Baalke turned his attention to the interior offensive line and landed the best guard available in free agency.

Keep in mind that Bradon Scherff plays right guard, which means that he will most likely take over A.J. Cann’s spot in the starting lineup. The addition of Scherff doesn’t close the potential return of left guard Andrew Norwell, who is set to become a free agency Wednesday, but at this moment, it’s unknown where the Jags expect him to play.

With Scherff taking over one of the guard spots, Robinson lining up at left tackle, and Brandon Linder at center, it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff does with Walker Little. Will he compete with Jawaan Taylor for the starting right tackle job? Also, is Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal still a possibility with the top pick in the 2022 draft? The Jaguars will eventually answer all these questions but one thing is clear, they are determined to beef up their offensive line and give Trevor Lawrence the best possible protection.