AJ

McCarron

The 2023 season was McCarron’s second stint with the Bengals. He played in Cincinnati from 2015-2017. In 19 NFL games, McCarron has thrown six touchdowns to three interceptions with a 63 percent completion rate. He’ll likely end up on another team’s practice squad in 2024 if he doesn’t join the UFL.

Browning took a hit while getting a pass off early in the fourth quarter and then landed on his hand. It’s unclear exactly which part of the interaction caused the injury, but he was seen shaking out his hand on the next play before exiting the game. He immediately left for the locker room. A.J. McCarron has taken his place under center.

McCarron, 33, signed with the XFL this offseason rather than staying in the NFL as a backup. Returning to the Bengals would add further insurance with Joe Burrow (calf) working through a setback. McCarron had 2,150 and a 24:6 TD/INT ratio in nine XFL starts this season.

The Giants are looking at emergency options with both Daniel Jones (ankle) and Tyrod Taylor (concussion) questionable for Week 5. McCarron has a history with coach Brian Daboll, who was the OC in Buffalo in 2018. New York is also working out Jake Fromm.

McCarron suffered a torn ACL in the 2021 preseason and has had no visits or interest since. This is a rough crew, but that’s what happens when you lose a quarterback in-season. Gilbert has started a game in each of the last two seasons and is probably the most competent option on the list. Glennon started four disastrous games with the Giants last year and has the most recent starting experience.

Felipe Franks is the only backup quarterback on Atlanta’s roster at the moment. Franks, a UDFA from Arkansas, was not expected to make the roster over McCarron. He was likely to be stashed on the Falcons’ practice squad for a year before getting a legitimate shot at backing up Ryan. That makes a veteran signing almost inevitable for the Falcons. Blake Bortles stands out as the top free agent quarterback.

The team appears to be fearing the worst. “I really feel for AJ McCarron,” coach Arthur Smith said. “We’ll get the MRI to confirm, but he’s heartbroken.” If McCarron is dealing with torn ligaments, the Falcons will have only UDFA Feleipe Franks behind Matt Ryan. A signing will be in order.

McCarron, 30, hung around with the Texans for the last two years but was merely needed for 38 total pass attempts behind Deshaun Watson in that time. With 174 career attempts through seven seasons, it’s truly a question mark whether the Falcons offense would simply crumble the moment he took the field. This move at the very least takes Atlanta out of the running to add a quarterback on day two of the draft.

Six months shy of his 30th birthday, McCarron is one of the weaker backups in the league. The Texans’ 2020 will be over if Deshaun Watson ever goes down with injury.

McCarron was hurt on a follow-through when his thumb banged against a helmet. The Texans have Joe Webb behind Deshaun Watson, but they’ll need to sign another quarterback to make it through the summer. Brandon Weeden has already been floated as a potential solution.