AJ McCarron won his grievance against the Cincinnati Bengals and will become an unrestricted free agent next month Trent Murphy Jersey , making him one of the more attractive quarterbacks on the market.

McCarron challenged the Bengals' decision to put him on a non-football injury list as a rookie in 2014, when the fifth-round pick had a sore passing shoulder. The move meant that the season wouldn't count toward free agency and McCarron would have to stick around as Andy Dalton's backup for one more year in 2018.

Instead, an independent arbitrator ruled in McCarron's favor on Thursday, a decision announced by the NFL players' association.

The Bengals could keep him for one more season by applying a transition or franchise tag, which is highly unlikely given the cost. Instead, the 27-year-old McCarron is set to find a place where he can start.

Could it be Cleveland?

The Browns arranged a deal for McCarron shortly before the trade deadline on Oct. 31 but failed to submit the paperwork on time, scuttling the trade. Browns coach Hue Jackson was McCarron's offensive coordinator in Cincinnati, giving him a firsthand assessment of the quarterback's abilities.

The Browns went 0-16 last season with rookie DeShone Kizer struggling. They're looking for stability at their most elusive position.

McCarron was a two-time national champion at Alabama. The Bengals drafted him to be Dalton's backup George Blanda Jersey , and he rarely played except in the preseason. During his four seasons, McCarron has appeared in only 11 games, most of them in the final minutes with a lopsided score.

His career-turning opportunity came in December 2015, when Dalton broke the thumb on his passing hand. McCarron started the last three games and led the Bengals to the playoffs. He then rallied the Bengals in a first-round game against Pittsburgh and had them in position to get their first playoff victory since the 1990 season, but Jeremy Hill fumbled and penalties on Vontaze Burfict and Adam "Pacman" Jones set up the Steelers for a winning field goal in the final seconds.

In four seasons, McCarron has completed 86 of 133 passes for 920 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Bengals have Jeff Driskel as a backup to Dalton. He broke his hand in the preseason and was on an injury list. Driskel hasn't played in a regular season game during his two seasons in Cincinnati.

LAS VEGAS — Thanks to Monday night’s 4-1 victory over Colorado, it’s finally okay to use the “P” word around Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant.

That’s “P” as in playoffs, a word that Gallant had banned from being used during the season as he stressed that the expansion Golden Knights stick to the old one-game-at-a-time mantra and not get caught looking ahead Adrian Phillips Jersey , even when Vegas had a 12-point lead in the Pacific Division.

With an “x” placed by their names in the standings emblematic of having officially clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Golden Knights (48-21-7) will try to finish their historic regular-season on a strong note starting with Wednesday night’s game against the resurgent Arizona Coyotes (26-39-11) at T-Mobile Arena.

“When you start the season in training camp your goal is to make the playoffs,” Gallant said. “That was a goal but that really wasn’t something we were looking at from day one to be honest with you. It’s a great feeling. Last night was a great feeling.

“But, you know what? We’ve still got two weeks of the regular-season left. We’ve got to play hard every shift. We’ve got to play hard every game and try and get more points and be on a roll when we go into the playoffs.”

Vegas is only 7-5-3 in its last 15 games and had lost four of its previous six contests (2-2-2) before Monday’s win over the Avalanche.

“We haven’t played a full 60-minute game in a while,” left winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said following practice Tuesday afternoon. “We are going to be playing better and better teams, so we are going to have to find a way to do that, because in playoff time, it’s those moments where you are a little bit not as good Marshon Lattimore Jersey , those are the moments that cost you the most.”

Vegas holds a five-point lead over the surging San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division with one meeting still remaining between the teams Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights are 27-9-2 on their home ice.

“Having the home advantage (in the playoffs), especially with our fans, is the most important thing that we have,” Bellemare said. “We feel comfortable playing at home and having that extra game is important. So all those games starting (Wednesday) are important for sure.”

This is the final of five contests between Vegas and Arizona, who last played on Dec. 3 at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights won all four of the previous meetings but two of them were decided in overtime.

“We played them a lot in the early parts of the year,” said Coyotes center Derek Stepan, who has eight points in the last five games. “I think we’re a different group in here. I know for our group, this is an important game for us DeShone Kizer Jersey , we want to make sure that we don’t let them get all five.”

The Coyotes, who began the season 0-10-1 and were 9-27-5 heading into 2018, have played much better of late with a 14-7-2 record in their last 23 games, including an impressive 4-1 victory at Eastern Conference leading Tampa Bay on Monday night.

This is the fifth contest of a season-long six-game, 5,862-mile road trip for Arizona, which concludes Thursday at Los Angeles.

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