The Facts: While meeting the media at the NFL scouting combine Wednesday, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin indicated that McCarron's contract status could be headed to arbitration and that they're not actively looking to trade him. "We'll listen. We'll always listen," Tobin said. "We're in the AJ McCarron business. He's a good player. He's proven valuable. He elevates our offense even when he's not on the field by the way he works and the way he leads and the preparedness that he has when called upon. There's going to have to be something pretty valuable for us to be out of that business."

Diehards Line:McCarron signed a four-year deal when he was taken in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, but he could be a restricted free agent after this season because he didn’t accrue an NFL year of experience when he spent most of his rookie year on the non-football injury list. Tobin said the club hopes to have him for another year, but also said such matters can be decided by arbitration.