Another veteran QB option emerges as A.J. McCarron wins grievance against Bengals

A name that had been bandied about for a couple of years for the Cleveland Browns is now a free agent.

That’s right, A.P. Andes favorite quarterback target for the Arizona Cardinals, A.J. McCarron is now officially a free agent.

McCarron had filed a grievance with the NFL that would allow him to become a free agent this offseason, despite issues with the Cincinnati Bengals who believed they should retain his rights for one more season. McCarron spent most of his rookie season on the Non Football Injury (NFI) list which would allow the Bengals to retain his rights.

However, McCarron filed a grievance and it appears, according to Ian Rapoport, won:

This is big for the Arizona Cardinals, as it is another option at quarterback, one that could land with Arizona, or free up a potential trade partner to move up and get a quarterback in the draft if that team, the Browns for instance, fill their QB need in free agency.

With Kirk Cousins, McCarron and the three Vikings quarterbacks all on the free agent market, as well as Josh McCown, there are a number of starting quarterbacks available on the market.

McCarron has only thrown 133 pass attempts in his career, but he’s been successful in that limited time: 86/133, 64.7%, 920 yards, six touchdowns to two interceptions.

The question is, what type of contract are you willing to give a player with 133 career regular season passing attempts?

The other question is, what are you willing to give up to go get into the top five, assuming the Browns sign McCarron and the Broncos sign Cousins, to get the QB you want?