McCarron will be unrestricted free agent after winning grievance

The path for the Browns to secure AJ McCarron as their next starting quarterback became easier Thursday.

An arbitrator ruled in favor of McCarron in his grievance against the Cincinnati Bengals, determining the two-time national champion from the University of Alabama will be an unrestricted free agent when the new NFL year begins at 4 p.m. March 14, a person familiar with the situation confirmed for the Beacon Journal. The Cincinnati Enquirer and NFL Network first reported the news.

If McCarron had lost the grievance, he would have been a restricted free agent. In other words, the Bengals would have had the right to match any contract offer from another team and could have received draft-pick compensation if they chose to let him leave.

The Bengals argued McCarron suffered a right shoulder injury away from the team and placed him on the nonfootball injury list when he was a rookie in 2014. McCarron was on the active roster for just the final three games that season, so he didn't reach the six games needed to accrue a season toward unrestricted free agency. But McCarron contended he shouldn't have been placed on the NFI list in the first place.

After filing the grievance about a year ago, McCarron prevailed and will hit the open market as a result.

The Browns will likely pursue him once teams are permitted to begin negotiating with his agent March 12. Browns coach Hue Jackson loves McCarron after serving as the Bengals' offensive coordinator during the first two seasons (2014-15) of the quarterback's professional career.