Cincinnati Bengals: AJ McCarron ruling expected Thursday

AJ McCarron is expected to find out this week what type of free agent he is.

The Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback has argued he should be free to sign with any team (unrestricted) while the team believes it should have some control over where he goes (restricted).

An arbitrator will decide, and that decision is set for Thursday per statements by McCarron late last month.

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At issue is just how much service time McCarron has accrued in the NFL since he was drafted in 2014.

He spent most of his rookie season on the non-football injury list because the Bengals determined he was already hurt when he got to Cincinnati.

If an arbitrator decides that was not proper at that time, McCarron could be awarded another year of service time and become an unrestricted free agent.

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He has made clear he appreciates his time in Cincinnati but wants a chance to start elsewhere, something that is not coming as long as Andy Dalton is with the Bengals (and there is no indication he is going anywhere anytime soon).

The Bengals could make that difficult if he is a restricted free agent because a team would have to give up some sort of compensation to sign McCarron.

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