The Bengals signed McCarron to their practice squad Saturday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
The move comes as starter Joe Burrow (calf) has been listed as questionable for Monday's matchup against the Rams. McCarron beat out Trace McSorley in a workout Saturday for the spot. If Burrow is unable to suit up, expect McCarron to take on the backup spot behind Jake Browning.
... See More... See Less
AJ McCarron: Healthy and looking for NFL job
Rotowire
McCarron (knee) said Monday that he feels great and is "waiting for a call" to return to an NFL roster, Mark Inabinett of AL.com reports.
McCarron signed with the Falcons last offseason to serve as the backup to Matt Ryan, but the former Alabama quarterback suffered a torn ACL during a preseason game and missed the entire campaign. Now a free agent, McCarron is looking to return to an NFL roster, but it's unclear if he'll get an opportunity in 2022. "You never know what the future holds," McCarron said. "I'm just ready, waiting for a call. But right now, I'm enjoying my time off and being able to be a dad for the first time in a while."
... See More... See Less
Falcons' AJ McCarron: Out for season
Rotowire
McCarron suffered a torn ACL in Saturday's preseason game against the Dolphins and is out for the season, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
McCarron suffered a non-contact injury during the game, and the team was pessimistic regarding the potential diagnosis afterward. An MRI on Sunday confirmed the bad news, and the veteran backup now will be sidelined until 2022. Undrafted rookie Feleipe Franks is the only healthy quarterback on the roster aside from Matt Ryan, so the team may be in the market for a more experienced backup.
... See More... See Less
Texans' AJ McCarron: On tap for Week 17 start
Rotowire
McCarron is expected to serve as the Texans' starting quarterback Sunday against the Titans, Dianna Russini of ESPN reports.
The Texans can still move up from the No. 4 seed in the AFC postseason to the No. 3 seed, but only with a win and a Kansas City loss. Considering the Chiefs are heavy home favorites over the Chargers and are kicking off at 1 p.m. ET, there's a good chance the Texans will be locked into the No. 4 position before their game kicks off at 4:25 p.m. ET. With that in mind, coach Bill O'Brien apparently isn't inclined to take any chances with Deshaun Watson (back) in the regular-season finale, as the star quarterback will be ticketed for backup duties. McCarron is thus on track to see the field for just the second time this season for what will be his first start since 2015, when he was with the Bengals. The Alabama product will have to make do with a depleted receiving corps, as Will Fuller (groin) has been ruled out, while Russini notes that DeAndre Hopkins (illness) will be active but isn't expected to play much. Kenny Stills (knee) is also questionable for Week 17 and could be limited if he's active.
... See More... See Less
Texans' AJ McCarron: Out of cast, throwing
Rotowire
McCarron (thumb) had the cast removed from his hand and threw during warmups prior to Thursday's preseason finale against the Rams, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.
McCarron dressed for the game but, as expected, did not play. This is a positive sign for the Texans, who lost No. 3 quarterback Joe Webb to a serious foot injury Thursday. McCarron appears on track to play Week 1 against the Saints after he broke his right thumb during joint practice sessions against the Packers on Aug. 6.
... See More... See Less
Texans' AJ McCarron: On track for regular season
Rotowire
McCarron (thumb) is on track to be ready by Week 1 according to head coach Bill O'Brien, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle reports.
McCarron has missed the past two preseason contests due to an undisclosed thumb injury and it now seems likely that he will miss a third. If that is the case, look for Joe Webb or Jordan Ta'amu to a majority of the reps against the Rams. However, it is reassuring to have McCarron ready for the beginning the regular season.
... See More... See Less
Texans' AJ McCarron: Could miss preseason
Rotowire
McCarron (thumb) could remain sidelined the entire preseason, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.
McCarron sustained a thumb injury during Tuesday's practice, the severity of which will cause him to sit out Thursday's preseason tilt against the Packers and possibly the remainder of Houston's preseason contests. Third-string quarterback Joe Webb is a prime candidate to see increased preseason action while McCarron remains sidelined, and the Texans could opt to sign another quarterback to the roster.
... See More... See Less
Texans' AJ McCarron: Tending to injury
Rotowire
McCarron was forced to leave practice Tuesday due to a right thumb injury, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.
It's unclear how he picked up the injury, but he seemed to hurt his right throwing hand Tuesday, and didn't return to practice. McCarron stands to back up Deshaun Watson in Houston, so don't be surprised if the team doesn't rush him back for Thursday's preseason game against Green Bay. If the Alabama product doesn't play, third-string quarterback Joe Webb stands to take on an increased workload.
... See More... See Less
Raiders' AJ McCarron: Receives support from GM
Rotowire
General manager Mike Mayock expressed a desire for McCarron to remain with the Raiders in 2019, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. "I think [coach] Jon [Gruden] and I both believe that the backup quarterback is one snap away from playing. It's important to have someone like McCarron ready to go," Mayock said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Oakland raised eyebrows around the league last offseason by shipping a fifth-round pick to Buffalo in exchange for McCarron. The 2014 fifth-round pick ultimately logged just 12 snaps and threw three passes for the Raiders in 2018. He'll be owed a $3 million roster bonus if he remains on the Raiders' roster March 15, with the majority of his contract then becoming guaranteed on the 17th.
... See More... See Less
Raiders' AJ McCarron: Traded to Oakland for fifth-round pick
Rotowire
McCarron was traded to the Raiders from the Bills on Saturday for a fifth-round pick, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Apparently displeased with his backup quarterback situation, Raiders coach Jon Gruden is bringing in a replacement for EJ Manuel and Connor Cook. It isn't entirely clear that McCarron will be an upgrade, given that he completed just 46 percent of his passes for 5.7 yards per attempt with the Bills this preseason.
... See More... See Less
Bills' AJ McCarron: Stays in Buffalo
Rotowire
McCarron will not be part of the Bills' roster cuts Saturday, John Wawrow of the Associated Press reports.
We'll never know if McCarron saved his job with a fantastic comeback to rescue what began as a horrible start Thursday against the Bears. The bigger news to come out of Buffalo will be what the 1-2-3 pecking order is between McCarron, Nathan Peterman and franchise QB Josh Allen, an order that has seemingly flipped around all summer. The team has only a few more days, if that, to publicly settle the issue.
... See More... See Less
Bills' AJ McCarron: Returning to practice
Rotowire
McCarron still has some shoulder soreness, but he'll return to practice Wednesday as a limited participant, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports.
McCarron avoided the collarbone fracture that was initially feared, but there's no guarantee he'll be available for Sunday's preseason game against the Bengals. The Bills plan to give Josh Allen most of the first-team reps in practice leading up to the game, per Joe Buscaglia of WKBW.com.
... See More... See Less
Bills' AJ McCarron: Suffers hairline fracture Friday
Rotowire
McCarron suffered a hairline fracture of his collarbone during the first quarter of Friday's preseason game against the Browns, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News reports.
Unable to return after suffering what was originally reported as a shoulder injury, McCarron is now looking at the possibility of a long-term absence. If he is indeed forced to the sideline for an extended period of time, Nathan Peterman and Josh Allen would be left in a two-way battle for the starting quarterback job.
... See More... See Less
Bills' AJ McCarron: Practices with second-teamers
Rotowire
After working ahead of Nathan Peterman for practices Wednesday and Thursday, McCarron was back with the second unit again Friday, Mitchell Courtney of the Bills' official site reports. "It was part of the plan from the beginning," said coach Sean McDermott. "Because we went red zone, we wanted to make sure that Nate [Peterman] and AJ [McCarron] had time in the red zone. If we stuck with the normal rotation, Nate [Peterman] would have gone again."
McCarron remains the guy that's looked best through the early part of training camp, though the battle hasn't sorted itself out yet and could continue all the way until the third preseason game.
... See More... See Less
Bills' AJ McCarron: Another day of first-team reps
Rotowire
McCarron is taking first-team reps at Bills practice for the second consecutive day, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW.com reports.
The implication here is that this is a break from the regular routine, as McCarron and Nathan Peterman had previously been alternating days with the first-team offense, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. It's a bit too early in camp to declare a clear-cut frontrunner, let alone a starter, but McCarron seems to be making the progress the Bills had hoped when they signed the former Bengal to a two-year deal this offseason.
... See More... See Less
Bills' AJ McCarron: Strong practice Sunday
Rotowire
McCaron saw exclusive work with the first team during Sunday's training camp practice and looked good doing so, Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News reports.
Nathan Peterman will continue to get work with the first unit as well, but Peterman -- who looked fantastic in minicamps -- hasn't looked nearly as good early on in training camp. First-rounder Josh Allen will get some first-team looks as well, but for now McCarron remains a mild favorite over the other two guys to be the Week 1 starter.
... See More... See Less
Bills' AJ McCarron: Open competition looming?
Rotowire
Coach Sean McDermott stated this week that the starting QB job will be decided through competition, Dominic LoVallo of BuffaloBills.com reports. "We've got open competition at the position. We've got two good players at the position," McDermott said in referring to McCarron and last year's fifth-rounder, Nathan Peterman. "Two, good, young players and we're excited about both of them. Both have done a lot of winning, albeit at the college level. Both quarterbacks have a lot of room to grow and are very encouraged about the opportunity to compete to start for the Buffalo Bills."
McDermott is a fine young coach, but he's also grown a quick knack for saying things like everything is a competition and no one's job is safe, including his own. So while it makes for good coach-speak, we doubt the Bills went out and landed McCarron only so they could let a much younger QB that struggled last season sneak away his job in some tryout. What's more important for McCarron's status is who the Bills take in the first round this season. If they trade up for someone like Josh Rosen or Josh Allen, or let someone fall to them at the No. 12 pick and take a quarterback there, then the competition could get serious pretty quickly since enough will be invested in that choice where that guy immediately becomes a franchise type of player.
... See More... See Less
Bengals' AJ McCarron: Wins appeal, granted free agency
Rotowire
McCarron won the grievance he filed against the Bengals last spring and will become an unrestricted free agent March 14, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
The Bengals contended that McCarron, a 2014 fifth-round pick, should be a restricted free agent this offseason after failing to accrue enough time on the team's active roster during his rookie campaign to qualify for unrestricted free agency. McCarron had spent most of that season on the Bengals' Non-Football Injury list due to a shoulder issue that impacted his throwing during Organized Team Activities, but the quarterback believed he could have come off the NFI list during training camp and that his activation was wrongfully delayed. After McCarron received the favorable ruling in arbitration, the Bengals won't be able to tender him the standard one-year contract for restricted free agents heading into their fourth season, thereby allowing the 27-year-old pursue a more sizable deal on the open market, and potentially, the opportunity to compete for a starting role. McCarron shouldn't have trouble securing a multi-year contract after the Browns made a major push to acquire him last fall, reportedly agreeing to send second- and third-round picks to the Bengals before the deal was nixed due to Cleveland's failure to submit paperwork for the trade in a timely fashion.
... See More... See Less
Bengals' AJ McCarron: Not being shopped on trade market
Rotowire
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said the team hasn't received any offers for McCarron and doesn't plan to seek out a trade, the team's official website reports. "AJ McCarron is a valuable member of our football team," Lewis said. "No one has asked to trade him. We're not going to go out and seek a trade for AJ McCarron. He's a valuable member of the team. We've said that how many times?"
There seems to be a general understanding around the league that the Bengals want more in return for McCarron than what anyone is willing to pay, though it isn't out of the question that a team like Cleveland or Houston could come up with a surprisingly strong offer if they miss out on other targets in free agency and/or the draft. McCarron does have experience working with Browns head coach Hue Jackson, who served as Cincinnati's offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015. The Browns also have an impressive stockpile of draft picks -- including three of the first 33 selections in the upcoming draft -- but they'd probably prefer to use one of those on a young quarterback rather than trading it for the 26-year-old McCarron. Another year as Andy Dalton's backup is likely in the cards.
... See More... See Less
Bengals' AJ McCarron: Solid in preseason debut
Rotowire
McCarron completed 11-of-16 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason opener against the Vikings.
The former Alabama quarterback is a clear second to Andy Dalton on Cincinnati's depth chart. He looked impressive in a late second quarter touchdown drive, but is unlikely to see meaningful regular season action unless Dalton gets injured.
