Backup quarterback A.J. McCarron is now an unrestricted free agent, ending one of the strangest contract disputes in recent memory.
McCarron, 27, was a fifth round selection by the Bengals in the 2014 draft, after winning three National Championships in four years at Alabama. McCarron was riding high going into the draft, having won his third National Championship, and was dating model Katherine Webb, an Auburn alumni, and former Miss Alabama (2012).
His draft stock plummeted, due to reports of coming into the draft overconfident. The Bengals signed him to a 4-year, $2.62 million contract. Shoulder soreness early on in training camp resulted in the Bengals placing McCarron on the non-football injury list, where he would be eligible to return in six weeks, despite passing his post-draft physical.
Keep that date in mind.
McCarron was activated in mid-December, after LB Vontaze Burfict was moved to injured reserve. The Bengals were solidified in having Andy Dalton as their franchise quarterback, and moved veteran Jason Campbell to the backup role. The plan was to redshirt McCarron for most of the season, as most rookie quarterbacks not taken in the first round should be.
McCarron appeared in seven games in 2015, including the Bengals’ Wild Card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Over the next two seasons, he appeared in only four games, throwing for a combined 66 yards.
Then came the 2017 season. Midway through the campaign, there was a report the Cleveland Browns were attempting to work a deal to acquire McCarron as a starting quarterback. Cleveland reportedly offered a second- and third-round pick in this April’s draft. Their experiment with rookie DeShawne Kizer was failing miserably (and went up in flames after finishing 0-16). However, the Browns did not contact the NFL offices in time to finalize the deal at the trade deadline. When Cleveland met Cincinnati in Week 12, cameras spotted Browns’ head coach Hue Jackson (a former Bengal offensive coordinator) seemingly introducing owner Jimmy Haslam to McCarron while the teams were warming up. Haslam is a large backer of the University of Tennessee, enjoyed a laugh with Jackson and McCarron, allegedly over McCarron’s alma mater being upset by the Auburn Tigers the night before.
McCarron argued he should have been able to return from the injury list much earlier, thus voiding one year of his contract. The Bengals maintained the contract should have been extended through the upcoming 2018 season.
Now it looks like McCarron to Cleveland may happen after all, and the Browns will be able to keep two of their draft picks, while only giving up a smidge of the $110.7 million in salary cap space they have available, which may increase nearly $14 million more if All-Pro tackle Joe Thomas decides to retire this offseason.
The Bengals now have much larger problems. They have no viable backup option for Dalton, who has shown a lot of inconsistency since that last playoff appearance two years ago, and not much salary cap space to use ($36.2 million). McCarron would have only added a little over $700K to the salary cap this year, and the majority of their offensive and defensive lines are only under contract until the end of the 2018 season. Dalton and Burfict are signed through 2020, and WR A.J. Green through 2019. Green and Burfict are due for contract extensions, and large paydays. With Dalton (30) scheduled to make and average of $16 million each of the next three years, the Bengals may have had a better chance getting a king’s ransom for an establish starter, instead of letting walk a younger candidate with a much more favorable cap hit.
Cleveland can now reach out to McCarron, and still draft either Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, or Josh Rosen with either the #1 or #4 pick of the first round, rather than shell out nearly $30 million per season to Washington’s Kirk Cousins (29).
Let me be the first to welcome Mr. & Mrs. McCarron to Cleveland. My apologies AJ, I’ll have to side with your wife in saying “War Eagle.”
-JC24