AJ McCarron believed to be Browns’ top option among free agent quarterbacks

The Bengals believed McCarron only had three accrued seasons in the National Football League, which would have made him a restricted free agent.

I don’t think McCarron is a star in the making, but he’s still an asset who had value that won’t be fully realized by the Bengals because of the way they managed him. Unfortunately, they are not going to be the only players at the table when it comes to McCarron.

Earlier today I wrote about the top five free agent quarterbacks, and boy what a good list it was! One was a playoff game. In those three starts he completed 65.7 percent of his passes with four TDs and zero interceptions, 6.9 yards per attempt and a 102.4 passer rating.

The plan would be to start the veteran and try to win games in 2018 after going 0-16 last season.

There remain questions about McCarron’s arm strength, and his struggles in Cincinnati once teams got tape on him.

An independent arbitrator ruled in his favour on Thursday and he will be on the market when the new league year opens March 14.

All AJ McCarron wanted was a chance to be a starting quarterback – to show that he could handle the moment like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers did when they finally got their turn, or Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Foles. Will it be the Browns and lame-duck coach Hue Jackson, who likes McCarron from his offensive coordinator days here? And if the Bengals refuse to match the offer, they could receive a compensatory draft pick from the team he signs with. Unlikely, but you never know. What I’m trying to say is that McCarron – like Glennon – presents a team with plenty of cap space an option that has a somewhat attractive combination of experience, upside, youth, and price tag. The rest of the guys out there (including McCarron, a career backup) are either just OK or uninspiring – Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford, probably Tyrod Taylor (once he is cut). Maybe a team can trade for Blake Bortles, but if so, that leaves Jacksonville as a team looking for a starting quarterback.

McCarron may be the compromise because his signing shouldn’t steer the Browns from taking a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in this spring’s draft.

The four-year contract that McCarron signed as a rookie runs out at that time.

But now with John Dorsey calling the shots, Browns Town was left to wonder how much pull Jackson might have in deciding on a quarterback. Very few will be satisfied, unless and until he performs at a level that justifies the decision.

But he and we are finally going to find out. Which means he’s likely to end up coming out of this a very rich man.