A.J. McCarron could be this year’s Mike Glennon
Now that A.J. McCarron has been declared an unrestricted free agent by the NFL, could he be this year’s version of Mike Glennon on the open market?
For a variety of reasons, A.J. McCarron could be this year’s version of Mike Glennon on the NFL free agency market.
I don’t mean that he’s going to just sign for a lot of money and then completely flop (although that’s a possibility with any quarterback that is not really proven). 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.
Like Glennon, McCarron is not going to break the bank.
When Glennon signed his three-year, $45 million contract worth $18.5 million in guaranteed money, it was considered by many to be a laughable contract.
One year later, those who were skeptical about Glennon’s contract appear to have been absolutely correct, but the Bears had to reach the cap floor somehow, and they had to have a contingency plan in case their investment in Mitch Trubisky in the draft didn’t work out.
Some team will similarly pay the price for McCarron, though unlike Glennon, I think McCarron has at least some upside as a long-term starter in this league. I don’t view him as an ideal solution for some team, but this is a player the Cleveland Browns were willing to give up a second round pick for.
The San Francisco 49ers also gave up a second round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo, and they just paid him the biggest contract in NFL history on an average per year. I’m not saying the Browns would have done the same with McCarron, but they were clearly ready to invest heavily in him.
Perhaps they would be willing to go above and beyond what the Bears paid for Glennon last offseason, but you could certainly use that as the framework for a deal.
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McCarron has not established himself as a star player in the NFL or anything, but he is young, he’s got some upside, and he’s played well when given an opportunity.
Even though he’s done nothing to blow anyone away (like Glennon), McCarron’s intrigue will likely cause some team to pay more for his services than is probably appropriate.
Like with Glennon last year, teams will be digging for past tape on McCarron, and they’ll like much of what they see from his 2015 season when he started three games for the Bengals, and was an overtime fumble against the eventual champion Denver Broncos away from winning all three.
Though things with Glennon in Chicago clearly aren’t working out, some team or perhaps even multiple teams will be willing to offer McCarron a similar contract and bet on his potential, and the first teams you can look for are teams that have a long way to go to reach the cap floor along with a need for a quarterback.
The Cleveland Browns are at the head of the pack early on.