Does A.J. McCarron change Denver Broncos QB plan?
Now that A.J. McCarron has been declared a free agent by the NFL, does he alter the Denver Broncos’ plans at quarterback?
Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback A.J. McCarron won a grievance against the NFL, and will be an unrestricted free agent in March.
This is a pretty significant development on the NFL free agent market, not because McCarron is going to contend for top quarterback money, but because some team is likely going to pay him to be their starting quarterback.
How does this affect the Denver Broncos? Does McCarron’s availability change John Elway’s current plan of action?
McCarron’s most extensive action came in the 2015 season, when he played in, started, and nearly won three games. Were it not for a fumble in overtime against the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, McCarron might have gone undefeated in his relief duty in 2015.
Backing up Andy Dalton, the mystique for McCarron has grown since his brief appearance in 2015, and it seems likely he is this year’s version of Mike Glennon, who was paid $45 million over three years by the Chicago Bears in 2017, or perhaps this year’s Brock Osweiler, who was paid $72 million over four years.
There’s plenty of precedence for backup quarterbacks in the NFL today with starting potential getting huge contracts.
Just look at the San Francisco 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo…
To answer the question, I think McCarron’s presence as an unrestricted free agent does significantly affect the Broncos’ plans. I don’t think that necessarily means that McCarron will be the apple of John Elway’s eye, but I do think his presence could give the Broncos leverage, and could prevent a team from competing with the Broncos for Kirk Cousins’ services.
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The Broncos are likely going to put all or most of their focus into signing Cousins, but McCarron could provide them with an interesting insurance plan.
He won’t cost as much as Cousins, and would also allow the Broncos to do what the Bears did with Glennon and just draft someone high anyway.
The only difference with the Broncos this year and the Bears last year is the fact that Chicago had a lot more money to play around with in free agency, and could afford that kind of contingency plan.
The Broncos may not have that luxury, which is a major reason I feel like if Denver doesn’t land Cousins, they will not be able to pursue Case Keenum or maybe McCarron or someone of similar price because they would obviously want to draft the future in that case.
Even though there were rumors that the Broncos could be interested in McCarron before the start of the 2017 season, I don’t think he will be at the top of Denver’s free agent wish list, but he could certainly have a significant impact on their free agent pursuits.