Baalke and Pederson Detail Why the Jaguars Signed Brandon Scherff

The Jaguars made a major move in free agency by adding offensive guard Brandon Scherff. But why exactly did the Jaguars make this addition?

The Jacksonville Jaguars made seven major additions this past week; with the start of free agency, the Jaguars spent more than any other franchise as they threw money to starters on both sides of the ball.

But why did the Jaguars make these specific additions? What stood out to them about each player added? Thanks to comments from general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson on Wednesday, we can answer those questions.

Next up: right guard Brandon Scherff, who the Jaguars signed to a three-year, $49.5 million contract with $30 million in guarantees. 

With the Jaguars losing starting guards A.J. Cann and Andrew Norwell in free agency, the Jaguars opted to spend big on guard and bring in Scherff. Scherff has missed 24 career games due to injury in his career, including 22 over the last four years. With 89 career starts under his belt, he has been named a Pro Bowler five times and was a first-team All-Pro in 2020.

"I think we've helped the team you know, obviously Trevor is a big part of the team and the quarterback position, but it's something that you have to look at. You have to be honest with yourself, right?" Pederson said on Wednesday. 

"You know, when when you have the quarterback element in place, what is around him? And really focus on the offensive line, what we did even in the offensive line. But the skill position is obviously a big component of that and felt like we did really well in solidifying some pieces around."

Pederson said Scherff will play right guard in Jacksonville, the same position he played throughout his entire tenure with Washington. This means Scherff will replace Cann, who spent the last seven seasons as the Jaguars' starting right guard. 

But aside from Scherff's natural and obvious talent at right guard, the Jaguars had other reasons for adding the former top-5 pick. As Baalke put it, Scherff is a "culture builder.

"That's exactly hitting the nail on the head," Pederson followed up. 

Scherff is a player the Jaguars will want to come in and establish himself as a leader and a centerpiece right away. Scherff is the only player in his 30s the Jaguars signed, and they made an exception for him for clear reasons. Not only do they see him as a high-quality guard who is among the best in the league, but they see him as one of the next true leaders and voices of the franchise inside the locker room.

"I just try to do everything the right way, just try to be that leader on and off the field for anybody. If we have young guys, I try to lead by example and show them the right way to do things. And just go about my business and do everything at 100 percent," Scherff said on Thursday.

"If I’m not doing the right thing, then I can’t help them. So, just doing the right thing and trying to be that leader for them. If they have questions, I’m going to try to help them out as much as I can.”

But what about the elephant in the room when it comes to Scherff? His injury history has been well-documented and has become the major talking point when it comes to the evaluation of him as a player. 

But for Baalke, who has played an emphasis on durability during his tenure with the Jaguars, Scherff's injury history isn't something that ever deterred the Jaguars in their pursuit for the former Pro Bowler.

"I think when you take a real deep dive into his injury history, it doesn't sound as bad as it is reported," Baalke said. "I think the guy plays a lot of football [and] when he's on the field is as good as it gets. And the culture part of it was a big factor in the decision. And the fact that one of our coaches has worked with him in the past, knows him, knows him at every level, knows what he could bring to the organization and the offensive line in particular.

"I think all those things factored in, making it -- again, how often you get a potential Hall of Fame player that wants to come and play for a team that has struggled? And he wanted to be here for a lot of reasons.