AJ McCarron wanted to go into the new league year as an unrestricted free agent. The Bengals said he was a restricted free agent. On Thursday, an NFL arbitrator sided with McCarron, who is officially an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team starting March 14, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
AJ McCarron is ruled an unrestricted free agent. What that means for the Bengals QB
McCarron filed a grievance against the Bengals and an independent arbitrator decided he can now hit free agency.
David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
“It was just business,” McCarron said, via the Bengals’ website. “They had to do what was best for them and I had to do what was best for me. It was never anything personal. I loved the city, loved the fans, loved everything about it. It’s an awesome place to play.”
Here’s what this means for McCarron, the Bengals, and any team that might want to sign him.
Why was there a debate?
McCarron was selected by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. A shoulder injury he suffered before arriving in Cincinnati landed him on the Bengals’ non-football injury list for all but three games that year. That’s three fewer games than McCarron would need for an accrued season, per NFL rules. But the non-football injury designation was the heart of McCarron’s argument against restricted free agency.
He said that he was healthy enough to play, but the team stashed him on the NFI list anyway. If McCarron had been on the PUP list or injured reserve, those games he wasn’t active for still would have counted toward an accrued season. The arbitrator saw things McCarron’s way and ruled in his favor. McCarron is now considered to have accrued four seasons, meaning he can hit the open market.
What does McCarron do now?
He enters the free agency fray with no ties to the Bengals whatsoever. He is free and clear to sign with whichever team he’d like, and he’ll get paid more handsomely than he would have with a restricted free agent tender.
Teams like the Browns, Jets, Cardinals, Broncos, and maybe even the Jaguars are going to be actively looking for new quarterbacks. Kirk Cousins is the biggest name on the free agency list (nobody thinks the Saints will let Drew Brees walk) and there’s only one Cousins to go around.
Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater, and Case Keenum are all set to become free agents, but the Vikings will hang on to at least one of them. Blaine Gabbert will be a free agent, as will Josh McCown, who actually had a pretty decent season for the Jets in 2017. But McCarron should be a hot commodity once the new league year begins.
What does this mean for the Bengals?
Cincinnati can try to retain McCarron if it really wants to, but it’s cost-prohibitive and unlikely with Andy Dalton still under contract.
McCarron has made it clear all along he wants to play. If he re-signed with the Bengals, he’d remain the backup unless Dalton was injured or regressed more.
In 2015, McCarron started games for the Bengals while Dalton was injured. The team went 2-2 in his starts, including a last-minute loss to the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round. McCarron has not started a game since.
McCarron wants to be a starter, and with so many teams in need around the league and only so many viable candidates hitting free agency, he probably has a reasonable shot to become one.
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