Considering the NFL franchises in need of a starting quarterback, A.J. McCarron should have many options to pursue this offseason. While that’s an accurate statement, Sports Illustrated’s NFL insider Peter King thinks the choices likely to present themselves to McCarron will make the final decision that much easier to make.

If you missed the news last week, McCarron won his grievance against the Bengals and is set to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career next month when free agency begins.

After mostly sitting on the bench at the game’s highest level, McCarron did start in a playoff game for the Bengals and performed well, the former Alabama quarterback appears poised to get his first opportunity to be a full-time starter at the NFL level — provided he chooses wisely this spring.

In King’s most recent Monday Morning QB article for Sports Illustrated, the NFL insider predicts where each NFL franchise currently in need of a QB will look. While noting the connection McCarron has with Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson, he was formerly McCarron’s offensive coordinator in Cincinnati, King believes Arizona is the most likely destination for the former Crimson Tide signal caller:

This would, of course, break Hue Jackson’s heart. But I just think the alternatives for McCarron are these: Go to Cleveland, and risk the Browns drafting a quarterback high in the first round, and risk being in the same place he was in Cincinnati, behind Andy Dalton, for the next three or four years … or go to Arizona (or another spot that won’t draft a passer high) and be handed the starting job on a team with a playoff defense. Not a very tough choice in my mind. Of course, when you’re guessing, no choice is very hard.

King makes a good point, as McCarron could fall into the same situation in Cleveland that he experienced in Cincinnati for several years. A couple of wildcards in McCarron’s recruitment could be Denver, the New York Jets and Buffalo. They all currently have needs at QB the pieces in place to assist a first-time starter in the NFL. However, the way King sees it, McCarron is set to become Steve Wilks’ first starting QB in the desert.