New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be a focal point of NFL offseason trade talks, but is he the best available quarterback on the market?
According to NFL Media’s Chris Wesseling, citing a poll done by NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron is viewed more favorably than Garoppolo with some NFL personnel executives.
“I wouldn’t feel good about making a major commitment to any of these quarterbacks,” one executive explained to Jeremiah, per Wesseling. “If I had to choose one, I would go after McCarron. Ideally, you get him for a late second or early third-round pick. Then, if it doesn’t work out, you draft a QB in 2018.”
McCarron didn’t see the field during the 2016 season, but he did play in five games during the 2015 campaign when starting quarterback Andy Dalton was injured. In that five-game stretch, the Alabama product completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,044 yards. He threw seven touchdown passes and only three interceptions but struggled during the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens and in the Bengals’ playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Whether the Patriots will trade Garoppolo remains to be seen, but if he stays in New England, it appears McCarron and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will headline the quarterback market.
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
