One of the sure bets of NFL Draft season is that the market for quarterbacks is going to be hot. Teams want to find their next franchise passer, whether they do it by selecting a player in the draft or trading one or more of their picks for somebody on another team.
It should come as no surprise that teams with sought-after backups would set their asking price as high as possible, but the Bengals appear to be shooting for the moon with what they're looking for in exchange for backup AJ McCarron. According to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, the Bengals want at least a first-round pick in exchange for McCarron's services.
On the veteran QB market: If the #Bengals are going to trade AJ McCarron it will require a 1st round pick -- at least. Pretty unlikely.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 25, 2017
It's worth noting that McCarron is a former fifth-round pick that has thrown all of 119 NFL passes since being drafted in 2014. He acquitted himself fairly well in three starts at the end of the 2015 season when Andy Dalton went down with a broken thumb on his throwing hand, but McCarron struggled badly during the Bengals' first-round playoff loss to the Steelers.
He's certainly considered a high-quality backup, but it's not exactly clear that there's evidence to support him being a quality starter. Getting a first-round pick for a player with his pedigree and track record seems extraordinarily unlikely. If they aren't able to pry that pick away from another team, they're apparently just fine with keeping him on board as Dalton's backup.
