McCarron's grievance dates to his rookie season in 2014, when the Bengals drafted him in the fifth round. McCarron initially passed his post-draft physical, but the Bengals placed him on the non-football injury list (NFI) at the start of training camp due to a shoulder issue.
In McCarron's opinion, he was healthy enough to come off the NFI list during training camp, which would have counted his rookie year toward free agency. But Cincinnati didn't add McCarron to its active roster until Dec. 9, meaning it was too late for him to accrue a season toward his free agency.
Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, a player receives an accrued season that counts toward free agency if he was eligible to play in six regular-season games.