A.J. McCarron

North Notes: Vikings, Browns, McCarron

February 15th, 2018 at 9:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Now that’s been declared an unrestricted free agent, Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron says he’s “open to everything,” according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It’s just awesome just to be free now and to hopefully get that opportunity and be able to compete somewhere,” said McCarron. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’m just super excited.” McCarron, who won a grievance against the Bengals, will now join a free agent signal-caller class that includes Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, and Sam Bradford, among others. In what sounds like speculation, the Browns (who nearly traded for McCarron last year) and the Vikings are two team to “keep an eye on” as McCarron hits the open market, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).

Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions:

The Steelers rank as a bottom-three NFL club in terms of 2018 cap space, and they’ll likely clear more room by releasing defensive backs Mike Mitchell and J.J. Wilcox over the coming weeks, as Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Pittsburgh can clear $5MM by cutting the 30-year-old Mitchell, and Dulac says it’s “become apparent” to the Steelers coaching staff that Mitchell can’t run as well as he used to. Wilcox, meanwhile, was a preseason trade acquisition who ended up playing only 14% of the Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps a year ago. If the Steelers do end up altering their defensive backfield, former second-round pick Sean Davis will likely transition from strong to free safety.
While Mitchell and Wilcox could be forced off the Steelers‘ roster, offensive tackle Chris Hubbard is likely to leave of his own accord, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Hubbard, 26, had only started four games during the first three years of his career, but was inserted into Pittsburgh’s lineup for 10 games in 2017. During that time, Hubbard offered league-average production, grading as the No. 40 tackle among 81 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. Per Fowler, Hubbard is going to “get paid elsewhere, and the Steelers know it.”
Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman is expected to retire or be released, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Freeman, 31, inked a three-year, $12MM contract with Chicago prior to the 2016 season, but injuries and two performance-enhancing drug suspensions have limited him to just 13 games over the past two years. Without Freeman, the Bears will likely field Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkowski at inside linebacker.
Updating a previous report, former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan is indeed still running his scouting service and has not been hired full-time by the Browns, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. McCloughan is providing consulting work for multiple NFL clubs.

A.J. McCarron To Be Unrestricted Free Agent

February 15th, 2018 at 3:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Quarterback A.J. McCarron has won his grievance against the Bengals, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and finally get his opportunity to be a starting quarterback.

McCarron has not seen a lot of playing time behind Andy Dalton, but he has impressed in a limited sample. In the final four games of 2015, when Dalton was out with an injury, he passed for 832 yards and six touchdowns against just two interceptions.

Last year, the Bengals were able to keep McCarron at a very modest $735K cap number. Had they been able to tag him as a restricted free agent with the first-round tender, they would have been able to either retain him for about $4MM or acquire a first-round pick from the team signing him. Instead, McCarron will hit free agency completely unfettered, making a return to the Bengals unlikely. Already, head coach Marvin Lewis has dismissed the idea of moving on from Dalton as the team’s starter this season and the Bengals can’t afford to give McCarron starter-type money.

In addition to winning UFA status, McCarron will also collect on lost salary from the 2014 season, with interest (Twitter link via Rapoport). In that season, McCarron was placed on the NFI list due to a shoulder injury.

This year’s unrestricted free agent QB class was already shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory and the addition of McCarron makes it even stronger. Kirk Cousins is the unanimous top draw, but Vikings QBs Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, and Teddy Bridgewater are also scheduled to reach the open market in March. Technically speaking, Saints QB Drew Brees is also a free agent, but he is widely expected to re-sign with the club before things open up next month.

Beyond those free agents, there’s also likely trade candidate Tyrod Taylor and a handful of intriguing QB prospects in this year’s draft. Teams with uncertainty under center like the Jets, Broncos, Browns, and Cardinals couldn’t ask for more in the way of options.

Latest On A.J. McCarron’s Free Agent Status

February 15th, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

Originally, it was reported that Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron would learn about his free agent status on Thursday. However, that’s not exactly the case. Thursday is the anticipated date for a ruling, but Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com (on Twitter) now hears that’s just a possibility. It’s now uncertain as to when we’ll hear the outcome of McCarron’s grievance.

If McCarron is classified as an unrestricted free agent, he’ll become one of the hottest names in an unusually talent-rich quarterback crop. Kirk Cousins is, of course, the top prize and Case Keenum figures to be the top alternative for teams that miss out on the Redskins signal caller. But, with Drew Brees expected to re-sign with the Saints, McCarron would factor in as one of the three best UFAs at the position.

Browns head coach Hue Jackson missed out on acquiring McCarron at the trade deadline, but the new regime could get a second chance at bringing him to Cleveland. The Jets, Cardinals, Broncos, and other QB-needy teams are also keeping a watchful eye on McCarron’s case.

If McCarron remains a restricted free agent, he’ll likely be stuck holding the clipboard for another season. Cincinnati reportedly plans to use a first-round tender on McCarron if he loses his grievance and coach Marvin Lewis says he’ll continue to start Andy Dalton in 2018. The Browns were willing to cough up a second-round pick and a third-round pick for McCarron during the season, but there’s no way that they’ll part with their No. 1 overall pick for the right to acquire him on a one-year, $4MM+ deal. Even teams picking later in the draft like the Cardinals (No. 15) or the Bills (No. 21) would likely pass on that scenario.

AFC North Notes: Browns, Bengals, McCarron

January 2nd, 2018 at 9:09pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a quick spin around the AFC North:

Hue Jackson is interested in adding former Bengals offensive coordinator Ken Zampese to the Browns’ coaching staff, according to Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (Twitter link). Jackson and Zampese overlapped for a number of years on the Cincinnati staff, so there is clearly a familiarity between the two coaches. Zampese, the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach from 2003-16, lasted only two touchdown-less games as the club’s offensive play-caller in 2017. Cleveland, which didn’t employ an offensive coordinator last year, wants to interview Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan for its OC vacancy.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther may not be the only assistant coach to leave the Bengals this offseason, as Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com reports (Twitter link) a number of Cincinnati staffers are on expiring contracts. Head coach Marvin Lewis agreed to an extension through 2019 earlier today, but that doesn’t mean all of his assistants will return. Given the lack of success in the Queen City over the past two years, some staff overhaul is to be expected.
Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron‘s free agent status grievance hearing will be settled on February 15, tweets Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. McCarron will argue that he should be an unrestricted free agent in March, while Cincinnati will contend that McCaron is a restricted free agent given that he was on the non-football injury list for most of his rookie campaign in 2014. The Bengals, of course, nearly traded McCarron to the Browns for second and third-round picks earlier this season.

QB Rumors: Rodgers, Stanton, Bengals

December 18th, 2017 at 9:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mike McCarthy appeared to move closer to the prospect the Packers could shut down Aaron Rodgers for the season’s remainder on Monday. The Green Bay HC said Rodgers was sore and the staff is “working through that” after the all-world quarterback’s re-emergence game against the Panthers, and the coach said he would watch the Falcons-Buccaneers game closely Monday night, per Ryan Wood and Michael Cohen of PackersNews.com. The Falcons are currently leading, and that result holding would end the Packers’ eight-season playoff streak tonight. McCarthy being noncommittal about Rodgers’ status after the Week 15 Green Bay loss, coupled with his Monday-night plans, would indicate a possible consideration of giving Rodgers a longer offseason to fully recover and prepare for 2018.

Here’s the latest from the quarterback position as Week 15 winds down.

As for Rodgers’ offseason, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports suggests it would be a good time to lock down Rodgers to a “monster” extension. The quarterback has seen inferior passers usurp him on the salary list in the past few years and would be in position to command a deal close to $30MM annually if he so chose. The salary cap is expected to rise between $174MM and $179MM from this year’s $167MM ceiling. Rodgers’ five-year, $110MM extension came in a year (2013) when the cap rested at $123MM. There are two years remaining on Rodgers’ contract following this season. The 34-year-old passer has no guaranteed money left on his deal, which has cap numbers of just $20.9MM and $21.1MM lined up for 2018 and ’19, respectively.
La Canfora also writes the Bengals playing A.J. McCarron instead of Andy Dalton during the final two games would be prudent. McCarron could end up a UFA depending on the outcome of his grievance, which is set for February. As of now, the fourth-year passer is set to be a restricted free agent. However, Marvin Lewis said (via Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer) he plans to keep Dalton in his starting role despite another sub-.500 season being guaranteed. La Canfora writes Dalton, who is attached to a team-friendly contract that runs through 2020 but contains little guaranteed money going forward, could “easily” be traded. McCarron, of course, was nearly traded to the Browns for a second- and third-round pick. The career backup’s attempted just 133 regular-season passes.
The Cardinals will be shaking up their quarterback status quo by turning back to Drew Stanton after going with Blaine Gabbert for five games. Bruce Arians (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, on Twitter) confirmed his initial Carson Palmer contingency plan will take back the reins. This comes after Arians raved about Gabbert’s abilities and with the Cardinals reportedly discussing an extension with the former first-round pick. Stanton started two games for the Cards earlier this season before going down with an injury. Stanton is signed through 2018.
Tom Savage‘s scary injury in Week 14 did not immediately result in his removal from that Texans-49ers game, making it a seminal sequence in the NFL’s ongoing concussion crisis. And Bill O’Brien said Monday (per Mark Berman of Fox 26, on Twitter) the fourth-year quarterback may not play again this season. T.J. Yates started in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Jaguars. Savage stands to be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

AFC North Notes: Shazier, Britt, McCarron

December 10th, 2017 at 12:22pm CST by Rory Parks

Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier underwent spinal stabilization surgery Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Shazier continues to show gradual improvement, though he remains hospitalized. Per Schefter, doctors are controlling and limiting Shazier’s movement as they wait for the swelling and bruising in his back to subside, and it is of course too soon to determine if he will be able to play again. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports adds that Shazier is expected to remain in the hospital for a few more days, but that his prognosis is “optimistic.”

Now let’s take a swing around the rest of the AFC North:

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun writes that, before Jimmy Smith‘s season-ending Achilles tear last week, there was talk that the Ravens could release Brandon Carr to create cap space and rely on Smith and the team’s cadre of young and talented corners. Zrebiec, though, thought that was a bad idea before the Smith injury, and he believes it’s even worse now. Carr has played reasonably well, and Smith’s latest injury is just further proof that Baltimore cannot count on him for a full season (he may not even be ready for the start of 2018). Zrebiec thinks the Ravens should not only retain Carr, but they should also continue to bolster their CB corps.
It does not sound as if the Browns will face any discipline for their alleged violation of the Rooney Rule in their hiring of John Dorsey. La Canfora reports that he spoke last night with John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, and Wooten indicated that his concerns with Cleveland’s GM search have been addressed. Wooten added that he has no issue with the hiring of the highly-qualified Dorsey (Twitter links).
The waiver period for claiming the contract of former Browns wide receiver Kenny Britt ends tomorrow at 4pm, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes. While Cleveland would love for someone to claim Britt off waivers, thereby absolving the Browns of the balance of his salary, that seems unlikely at this point. Florio writes that Britt wants to sign with a playoff contender if he clears waivers, and that the Patriots could be a team to watch in that scenario.
A ruling on A.J. McCarron‘s grievance will be made in February, as La Canfora reports. The Bengals‘ backup QB has argued that he should be an unrestricted free agent when the 2018 league year opens, while the league feels he should be a restricted free agent. In any event, the matter will be resolved before free agency gets underway.

AFC Notes: Raiders, Jags, Bengals

November 26th, 2017 at 6:28pm CST by GregGoldstein

There was a team-wide brawl that took place between the Raiders and Broncos this afternoon, started by Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree and Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib. The two have a had a go of it in the past, when both engaged each other during a game last season. However, this fight was capped off by Crabtree throwing and partly landing a punch at the head of Talib. Both players were immediately ejected from the game, which forced the veteran wideout to watch the rest of the contest from a suite, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.

The Raiders receiving corps took a further hit in the AFC West battle as they lost Amari Cooper for the game with a concussion, Gutierrez also passes along. The 23-year-old wideout suffered the injury when he was hit in the head by Broncos safety Darian Stewart on a collision over the middle of the field. There appeared to be no malicious intent behind the play, even though there was a personal foul penalty given. Nevertheless, Oakland may be without both their top receivers for next week’s game because of what transpired today versus Denver. The Raiders would need extra contributions from the likes of Seth Roberts, Johnny Holton and Cordarrelle Patterson should Crabtree get suspended and Cooper not pass concussion protocol.
The Jaguars were hit with a concussion of their own as starting linebacker Telvin Smith did not return after suffering the injury, reports Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Smith has been one of many key contributors in what has turned into perhaps the best defense in football. This situation will certainly be worth monitoring throughout the upcoming practice week.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon had the best game of his professional career in the team’s blowout of the Browns. The second round pick tallied over 160 yards from scrimmage, while averaging exactly five yards per carry. Mixon had already been getting a lot of work in recent weeks, but finally broke through with a performance that he and the team were waiting for. “It feels great,” said Mixon, “The offensive line was great and the receivers did a great job blocking on the perimeters and we just went out and finished.” (Quote courtesy of Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com). Look for Mixon to continue to be a big part of the Cincinnati offense in the last five games of the season.
In other Bengals news, backup quarterback A.J. McCarron was seen mingling with Browns head coach Hue Jackson and owner Jimmy Haslam before Sunday’s game. This is notable considering Cleveland tried to trade for the signal caller right before the deadline, but it’s not something that McCarron really focused on when discussing the interaction after the contest. “No point talking about the trade. It didn’t happen and it’s not going to happen now,” McCarron said. “I saw Mr. Haslam just to say hey to him. I’ve known Mr. Haslam through the whole draft process. I took a visit there. He’s a good Tennessee guy and you know the love between Tennessee and Alabama.” (Quote courtesy of Hobson).

Browns Notes: Gordon, Thomas, McCarron, Hue, Currie

November 7th, 2017 at 9:16pm CST by Micah Powell

On the heels of his reinstatement into the NFL, Josh Gordon detailed his extensive drug use and recovery in a revealing Q&A with GQ.

In the piece, Gordon admits he was a highly functioning addict who would drink “a couple shots” before games, including his back-to-back 200-yard performances during his standout 2013 campaign. Gordon said his drug use began in the seventh grade with marijuana and Xanax, and he believes he has had something in his system for every game of his career.

When asked why his recovery this time is different, the receiver said, “Every time I would try to stop, it would be for the wrong reason. … Last time, I wanted to do it to save my career. Just for the job. [Now] I have the positive reinforcement and motivation of having a daughter and stuff like that, but kids can’t save you in that aspect. Only thing saving me at this point and time, and the difference between now and then, is that I’m doing it for myself. And I want something more for myself.”

Gordon will be allowed to begin practicing with the Browns on November 20, with the hopes of getting back on the field for the team’s Week 13 matchup with the Chargers.

Here is the latest from Cleveland:

Browns head coach Hue Jackson issued no comment on his relationship with the front office when addressing reporters, including 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland’s Keith Britton (via Twitter), on Monday. The comment stemmed from the team’s fiasco in attempting to acquire A.J. McCarron from the Bengals and executive vice president Sashi Brown‘s comments earlier in the day. Brown also noted the botched deal for the quarterback made last week a tough one from a public relations perspective, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets.
It occurred to some with the Browns during the McCarron talks that Jackson could be back in Cincinnati next season with the team’s second- and third-round picks from the deal, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora tweets. Whether Jackson is with the Bengals or another team, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the coach looking for another job after winning just one of his first 23 games in Cleveland.
Brown also said the raise to Joe Thomas had been talked about before the veteran’s injury, the Akron Beacon Journal’s Nate Ulrich tweets. As previously mentioned, Thomas was given $3MM in new money last week.
Safety Justin Currie has a workout scheduled for Friday, the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Signed to the Browns’ practice squad in December 2016, the Western Michigan product was released in the preseason and has yet to sign with another team.

Browns’ Sashi Brown On Blown Trade, Future

November 6th, 2017 at 1:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Teams like the Bills and 49ers made headlines last week after pulling off blockbuster trades. The Browns, meanwhile, were in the spotlight for the deal they did not make. Despite verbally agreeing to acquire quarterback A.J. McCarron from the Bengals, the Browns failed to file the proper paperwork before the 4pm ET/3pm CT trade deadline.

Did the Browns intentionally scuttle the deal? On Monday afternoon, top executive Sashi Brown discussed the the would-be swap and much more (transcript via Nate Ulrich of the Akron-Beacon Journal):

On whether the paperwork mishap was deliberate:

It’s wholly untrue. I think we were all in there together, Hue, myself and a couple other staff members that work on these things at the time we were trying to get the trade done. So I’m not worried about that internally, externally. I can just put it to bed. That’s just not the case. Nothing we would ever do. To try to make up a trade to sabotage a trade just wouldn’t make any sense.

This is just a matter of getting to a deal too late in the process. Both Cincinnati and us tried our damnedest to try to get the paperwork in at the last minute. We’re talking about minutes and seconds before the trade deadline ended. We were on the phone with the NFL at the time to try to make it happen. It did not happen. I do think Cincinnati in earnest tried. I know we did everything humanly possible to get it done. It just didn’t happen.

On whether the botched deal will result in his firing:

I don’t [worry about it costing me my job]. I think we’re in good communication with both Dee and Jimmy [Haslam] on these things, and they’re well apprised of what we’re doing and why and how things come together. I think they’ve seen our track record in terms of being able to perform and pull off some of the more creative deals in the league and a host of just simple, straightforward transactions, whether they’re in the season or on draft day. So I don’t [have that concern]. I think they understand that we’ve been as aggressive as any team trying to churn this roster and improve it.

On whether he has been assured of his return for 2018:

No, it wouldn’t be a conversation that I would have, either. I think the most important thing for us to do is really stay focused on our task at hand. We’ve got eight [games left] this year. Our [players] have been resilient and focused. I think you’d expect no less from the front office and the coaching staff, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.

Bengals Would Use First-Round Tender On A.J. McCarron?

November 5th, 2017 at 8:35am CST by Rory Parks

Bengals backup quarterback A.J. McCarron is filing a grievance against his team in an effort to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Cincinnati drafted him in 2014 and placed him on the non-football injury (NFI) list at the start of training camp that year due to a shoulder injury, and McCarron contends that he was healthy enough to come off the NFI list during training camp. The Bengals, however, did not activate him until December 9, 2014, so he did not accrue a season of service time.

As such, he is currently scheduled to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2017 campaign, meaning that the Bengals would have the right of first refusal if another club signed him to an offer sheet. And, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Cincinnati plans to use a first-round tender on McCarron if he loses his grievance and remains a restricted free agent.

The first-round tender amount in 2017 was just shy of $4MM, which is not an enormous expense for a coveted signal-caller, especially since the Bengals owe their starting QB, Andy Dalton, a non-guaranteed $13.7MM salary in 2018. However, as Schefter notes, a first-round tender would make it difficult for another team to simply sign McCarron to an offer sheet, as such a team would need to send a first-round draft choice to Cincinnati if the Bengals refused to match the offer sheet.

Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer, though, says it is likely the Bengals would use a second-round tender on McCarron, and that the team could simply elect to match any offer he receives as a restricted free agent and then try to trade him. Of course, if McCarron wins his grievance, it is highly unlikely he returns to Cincinnati, and the Bengals would probably net a 2019 third-round compensatory choice if/when he signs elsewhere.

Interestingly, Schefter writes that the Browns, who bungled the opportunity to trade for McCarron last week, could also attempt to pursue Dalton via trade this offseason.

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