McCarron wins his grievance, now a FA

[ericanadian]

I think if the Browns are out of the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes, they should sign McCarron and draft Josh Allen.

Of the top 4 QB's, Allen has the most upside but also needs time to develop. I think McCarron would be a solid bridge option. As said above, no one is giving McCarron the starting gig outright, but I think he has talent to start in this league.

That seems so much like a replay of the Kessler/Kizer drama we just watched this year. Jackson doesn't have the patience for a developmental guy. He's desperate and while he may think McCarron can get things done, he'll quickly realize his mistake and throw Allen into the fire way too early.

[Madadamus]

But what rookie QB is going to come in and make them competitive?

Mayfield may be the most ready now, but he still played in a spread offense and as we’ve seen from other QB’s that come from those systems there is obviously an adjustment period.

They’ve made this rebuild a long process, why rush the last phase when you’ve been methodical in your approach the whole time?

McCarron knows the offense and is competent enough to keep that offense above water. Even if they go Darnold/Rosen/Mayfield it’s still a viable option.

[Shoreline Steamers]

I don't think he's going to get a Glennon type deal since there are better options in free agency this year. The Bills are in play, possibly the Jets depending on what McCown decides to to. The knee-jerk reaction to this news was Cleveland with their botched trade last season, so I figured I'd pluck that low-hanging fruit. I do hope however that they make a big push for Cousins or Tyrod since they've got the dollars to make that happen. Either would clearly be better than McCarron.

For some reason I have a feeling he's going to end up in Arizona. They need a QB with none under contract, don't have a lot of cap space, and he seems to be the type of QB that Steve Keim brings in. Gabbert, Stanton, Barkley. Hopefully McCarron is better than any of those options, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's the type of player we're looking at. Sign A.J, draft a rookie, and see what happens in the desert.

[Valhalla]

Browns seem like the obvious choice to go after him since they just tried to trade a couple picks for him months ago...
...until you realize that was a different GM that tried to trade for him a few short months ago.

[ninotoreS]

Neat. Maybe plucking him off the waiver before Week 16 and stashing him at the end of my roster will end up paying off, then.

He'll get a shot to start somewhere, in training-camp and preseason at minimum.

After having lightly studied his tape, I tentatively speculate that McCarron could be a top-15 QB provided he's somewhere with a decent O-line. Top-10, maybe, if he's really fortunate with a landing spot. His arm-talent is average at best, but he checks some of the other primary boxes I've learned to look for in QBs; sees the entire field, makes his progressions quickly, sufficient pocket-awareness and can complete passes on the run, throws with rhythm and anticipation, good work ethic.

I think he'll struggle to find a buyer. He's likely behind Cousins, Keenum and probably Bridgewater as a long term option.

yes, maybe, no

Cousins is everyone's darling, of course. Keenum was eye-opening last season, but fair or not, there's still lots of front-offices that just don't want a QB with his (relatively) short height + average arm-talent. Bridgewater was considered a draft reach by the majority of the league's front-offices, and nothing he's done in his career to this point has contradicted their pessimism; now after a serious injury and two replacement QBs in Minny both performing better with their offense than Bridgewater did, I suspect the league has concluded that he should be holding a clipboard for the rest of his career.

[Bot101]

Browns seem like the obvious choice to go after him since they just tried to trade a couple picks for him months ago...
...until you realize that was a different GM that tried to trade for him a few short months ago.

Sashi Brown didnt want him. Hue Jackson was the bonehead trying to trade a 2nd and 3rd rnd pick for him. When the paper work was mysteriously not filed properly, some speculate that Brown was behind that, and thats what ultimately led to his firing.

[hockeyBjj]

He would have been better of as a free agent QB next year honestly.

Cousins, Smith, Case, Bradford, Teddy, deep QB class of 18

I don't think he gets signed anywhere except as a slightly more capable backup QB than what they have currently

Keenum and Foles showed this year why having a better than a placeholder backup is a good thing, but I don't see him as a starter anwhere

[ericanadian]

Neat. Maybe plucking him off the waiver before Week 16 and stashing him at the end of my roster will end up paying off, then.

He'll get a shot to start somewhere, in training-camp and preseason at minimum.

After having lightly studied his tape, I tentatively speculate that McCarron could be a top-15 QB provided he's somewhere with a decent O-line. Top-10, maybe, if he's really fortunate with a landing spot. His arm-talent is average at best, but he checks some of the other primary boxes I've learned to look for in QBs; sees the entire field, makes his progressions quickly, sufficient pocket-awareness and can complete passes on the run, throws with rhythm and anticipation, good work ethic.

I think he'll struggle to find a buyer. He's likely behind Cousins, Keenum and probably Bridgewater as a long term option.

yes, maybe, no

Cousins is everyone's darling, of course. Keenum was eye-opening last season, but fair or not, there's still lots of front-offices that just don't want a QB with his (relatively) short height + average arm-talent. Bridgewater was considered a draft reach by the majority of the league's front-offices, and nothing he's done in his career to this point has contradicted their pessimism; now after a serious injury and two replacement QBs in Minny both performing better with their offense than Bridgewater did, I suspect the league has concluded that he should be holding a clipboard for the rest of his career.

Bridgewater never played under Shurmur, and the entire offense was better once Turner packed it in. Bridgewater may have been a considered a reach at the end of the 1st, but what relevance does that have when you're comparing him to a 5th round pick?

[BigJoeWall72]

To me it just seems like AJM will end up signing with a team and be given a shot to be the starter, but not straight up handed a starting job or starter's money anywhere. A deal like Mike Glennon got last year would probably make sense for both sides. Not a massive amount of guaranteed money (relatively), but something that could look good in his eyes because of the deep QB free agent market.

As Shoreline Steamers said above, I'd bet he ends up somewhere that doesn't have an abundance of cap space. And also probably a team without a high pick to get a QB in the draft. A team like Arizona is a good call as a bridge QB, or even Buffalo.

If I'm the Jaguars and Blake Bortles contract becomes guaranteed at the start of the league year because of that wrist injury, I seriously consider signing him and make it an open competition in training camp.

[Shoreline Steamers]

If I'm the Jaguars and Blake Bortles contract becomes guaranteed at the start of the league year because of that wrist injury, I seriously consider signing him and make it an open competition in training camp.

I almost included Jacksonville, because it looks like the situation you're pointing out is going to come to pass. The only reason I didn't mention the Jags is AZ has a little more cap room (not much) something like $22 mil for Arizona and $16.9 mil for Jacksonville. But I do think you make a good point, and it would be smart for the Jags to look at doing something like this.

Really a weird year with so many FA QB's out there, and then the incoming rookie class which some people are pretty high on overall. Some teams in need could really get a shot in the arm if they play their cards right.

[ArrylT]

According to the same article (that I posted on a different thread) Bucky Brooks thinks McCarron is capable ...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... assessment

[Shoreline Steamers]

According to the same article (that I posted on a different thread) Bucky Brooks thinks McCarron is capable ...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... assessment

Somebody agrees that Arizona makes a lot of sense. I'm still guessing that's where he ends up.

[ArrylT]

I think it makes for a sensible destination yes - my guess (and just a guess) is that he'll likely en up making what Tyrod Taylor and Mike Glennon made (15m a year).

[ArrylT]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/03/05/nfl-c ... peter-king

According to Peter King - Hue Jackson still interested in McCarron.

[Pullo Vision]

I'd rather he go to a place he wouldn't be the bridge or placeholder for a rookie. Arizona and Buffalo seems the best in that regard, and the loser for Cousins between Denver and Minnesota would be interesting. Miami, Indy and Jax would say something interesting about the currently projected starters.