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Broo View: Good backup like AJ McCarron is a valuable commodity

Posted at 2:24 PM, Aug 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-01 03:15:42-04

If I'm Mike Brown and Mike Zimmer calls me and ask would I trade back up quarterback AJ McCarron, I'd say, "Sure."

But then I'd tell Zim my asking price is two No. 1 draft picks. If I'm feeling rather frisky, I'd also mention that Adrian Peterson is a player of interest.  

If Teddy Bridgewater's injury tells us anything, it's just how quickly fortunes can turn in the NFL. It's amazing, really, that Andy Dalton hasn't missed more playing time than the four games last season. Odds tell usm that starting quarterbacks can be a brittle lot. But therein lies the value of a back-up. And there is no better back-up quarterback in the NFL than AJ McCarron. He remains one of the all time "steals" in the NFL draft, an afterthought fifth rounder.

Think of what must be going through Zimmer's mind today.  He has a team that was the favorite to win the NFC North two days ago. Then, Bridgewater goes down in a practice (you think preseason games are dicey) and immediately, the Vikings become better candidates for the cellar in their division than a champion. But the Vikings are built to contend at other positions. Peterson remains an elite running back. Kyle Rudolph is a terrific tight end.  Minnesota's defense ranked fourth in red zone scoring and fifth in points allowed last season.  

But without a quarterback, it's going nowhere. Now, why would you want to bring in someone like McCarron, and pay the price to get him, if Bridgewater will be back next season? Because in the NFL, all you have is now. And you worry about tomorrow tomorrow. There are no guarantees that Bridgewater will return as the same kind of player he's been. He didn't just tear his ACL, he completely dislocated his knee. He may very well be out a full year.

Let me be clear: if I'm the Bengals, I don't trade McCarron UNLESS a team makes an absurd offer. And when that team is the Vikings, built to win now, they may very well be desperate enough to offer the absurd. The liability is, of course, what happened to Bridgewater could easily happen to Dalton, or any quarterback. The answer to what the Bengals should do isn't as clear cut as you might think.

Random thoughts on a random Wednesday ...

The Steelers have their own way of doing business. But this was a good piece of business they did today ...

The Big 12 Conference began delivering bad news to potential expansion schools. This school should have never been a serious candidate...

Reportedly, the Big 12 has the number of potential expansion candidatesdown to a workable number now...

The University of Cincinnati opens its 2016 season Thursday night against Tennessee Martin. Not a marquis matchup but could be a dangerous way to start the season. UC by 28, IMHO...

It's an unbelievable number of great potential matchups to begin the 2016 college football season. Butthis gameon 9 On Your Side this Sunday night could be a classic ...

I think Bryan Price finally has the team that he thought he would have. But the smart money still says when Dick Williams finally has Walt Jocketty out of his hair, he'll bring in his own field manager. I wonder, though, if a case could be made for hanging onto Price for another season, since the Reds won't be competitors in '17 ...

Sounds like if the 49ers release Colin Kaepernick, he'll have a tough time finding work in the NFL ...

We need to wish a happy 68th birthday today to the great German guitarist, Ruldof Schenker, the founding member of the group Scorpions, who gave us this classic in 1984:

From the 1984 album "Love at First Sting," Schenker wrote the song with fellow band mates Klaus Meine and Herman Rarebell. And if you watched MTV back in the day, you saw the video for this a lot. The song peaked at No. 25 that year.  Meine sings lead, Schenker is on rhythm guitar and Matthias Jabs is on lead.  All of the original Scorpions are still alive, including bass guitarist Francis Buchholz.  Meine, Jabs and Schenker are still in the group today. And 68 years ago today, in Hildesheim, Germany, Ruldolf Schenker began his journey as one of the best guitarists in rock history.