Cleveland Browns: A.J. McCarron worth $19 million? Pro Football Talk thinks so

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has A.J. McCarron’s projected salary in 2018 at $19 million, are the Cleveland Browns desperate enough to pay that much?

It’s a great time to be a quarterback in the NFL. The contracts being given to those with even a modest sample size have become astronomical. One player who could be next to get a big deal is A.J. McCarron, who is continually being tied to the Cleveland Browns.

There are mixed feelings about this amongst fans. While it would be hard to say he shouldn’t come to Cleveland, the salary is where things get murky.

McCarron has shown some signs of being able to play in the NFL, and Browns head coach Hue Jackson coached him for two seasons and loves his game. Even saying that, the Browns can’t just go out there and throw him the kind of money that’s made it’s way to players like Jimmy Garoppolo and Blake Bortles recently.

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According to those who know the league though, McCarron may be earning something close to them. Garoppolo is set to make $27.5 million per season and Bortles can earn up to $22 million per year with his three-year extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is projecting McCarron to get roughly $19 million per year whenever he does land his next contract.

Sadly, Florio is probably right. Teams get so desperate for a starter at the position that they pay simply for hope, see Brock Osweiler and his four-year $72 million deal for instance. The question becomes whether or not the Browns should be willing to pay that.

The answer should be no. That’s far too much money for an unproven player. Instead, it would make much more sense to go out and take the best player possible at No. 1. It would be nice to pair that player with a trusted veteran, but even finding a guy you know could be a game manager should be less than $19 million.

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And let’s be honest, we don’t even know if McCarron could even provide that for a full 16 game season yet.