Make room for AJ McCarron in the pool of free agent quarterbacks.
McCarron won a grievance filed against the Bengals on Thursday that credits him with an accrued season for 2014, which means he now has the four seasons needed for unrestricted free agency under his belt. McCarron objected to the Bengals putting him on the non-football injury list with a shoulder issue during his rookie year because he argued the injury came from his work with the team.
Unless the Bengals re-sign him or use a franchise tag, McCarron will now be a free agent when the new league year opens at 4 p.m. ET on March 14. The former seems unlikely for a player who is looking to start and the latter wouldn’t make much sense unless the Bengals are planning to move on without Andy Dalton.
McCarron was nearly traded to the Browns before the trading deadline last year. Given the second- and third-round picks they were to send to Cincinnati, they’re probably happy the deal didn’t go through after Thursday’s ruling.
They could pursue him again now that acquiring him would not cost any compensation in return. Vic Lombardi of Altitude Sports Network also said on PFT Live this week that the Broncos may be interested in McCarron as a free agent.
There are other teams in the market for a quarterback and McCarron figures to get looks from them as well now that the word has come down about his contract status.