A.J. McCarron a smarter investment than Sam Bradford
By Jon Dove
The quarterback carousel has played out in an interesting way especially when looking at the A.J. McCarron and Sam Bradford situations.
A.J. McCarron didn’t have the type of free agency experience he he expected. His options were limited and jobs were filling up fast. However, the Buffalo Bills finally stepped up to the plate and offered him a two-year deal.
It has been reported that the deal tops out at around $10 million which is roughly half of what Sam Bradford will receive in one season. Bradford signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals worth $20 million with $15 million complete guaranteed.
Arizona obviously went with the most proven commodity, but Bradford’s injury history is a major red flag. He has only played a full 16 games in two of his 7 seasons.
It’s reasonable to think that Bradford will have similar health problems this year.
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McCarron comes with a lot less playing time, but also comes with that unknown factor. He has seen action in 11 games throwing 7 touchdowns and one interception. In his playoff performance against Pittsburgh Steelers, he played well enough to win the game, but came up short by two points.
Arizona’s decision to sign Bradford over McCarron is curious on a few levels. Bradford’s health issues are obvious, but there’s also the salary cap considerations. The Cardinals don’t have much room under the cap which played a role in them cutting Tyrann Mathieu.
Essentially, Arizona chose adding Bradford over keeping Mathieu; which is a major head-scratcher.
The Bills landing McCarron makes a ton of sense and is a great move. He will head into camp competing for the starting job against Nate Peterman and likely a draft pick. If McCarron fails to win the job he will still be under a reasonable contract for a backup quarterback.
Buffalo can now head into the draft looking to add their future franchise quarterback. If McCarron plays well they can use him as a future trade chip.