It’s been ‘a heck of a run,’ but Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron isn’t done yet

[Arkansas Bengal]

Charlie Goldsmith, Cincinnati Enquirer

Wed, Dec 13, 2023, 12:56 PM CST·9 min read

 

 

Last Saturday morning, the day before Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron appeared in his first NFL game since 2020, McCarron’s two sons were shooting baskets on the hoop near the weight room at Paycor Stadium.

 

McCarron kept playing football so Tripp and Cash could experience moments like this one. They weren’t born yet when AJ clinched a division title with the Bengals in 2015, and neither of them is old enough to remember their dad’s seven-year stretch as a backup quarterback in the NFL.

 

Tripp and Cash got to be inside of Paycor Stadium the day before a game. They got to hang out with their dad and meet his teammates. On Sunday, during the Bengals’ win over the Indianapolis Colts, they were in the crowd and cheered on AJ for five snaps that meant everything to him.

 

Starting job eluded McCarron for years

 

McCarron never got to be a full-time starting quarterback in the NFL, but the 33-year-old has a different perspective now on a career that’s been full of what ifs.

 

“Everything happens for a reason,” McCarron said. “My journey led me back here.”

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron played in his first NFL game in four years, completing a pass last week against the Indianapolis Colts.

 

Ten years ago, McCarron was the hotshot national champion quarterback from the University of Alabama. Then he was Andy Dalton’s backup. After that, he helped the Bengals reach the playoffs in 2015 as an injury replacement before riding the bench for two more years. Between 2018 and 2021, McCarron bounced between four teams before tearing his ACL and going to the XFL to keep his career alive.

 

McCarron landed back with Bengals in September

 

McCarron took the scenic route back to the NFL, and he signed with the Bengals’ practice squad in Week 3. He became the Bengals’ backup quarterback behind Jake Browning following Joe Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury, and McCarron completed his first pass in four years on Sunday.

 

Nothing over the last 10 years has gone according to plan, but his winding road has led him back to the team that drafted him.

 

“There aren’t many teams, cities or organizations that I just would have signed on the practice squad with,” McCarron said. “This place means a lot to me. I have a lot of memories and friendships here. It was a no-brainer to come back.”

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron said that it took an opportunity with a 'place that means a lot to me' to sign with the Bengals in September.

 

McCarron’s first stint with the Bengals, according to multiple reports at the time, was a product of McCarron’s over-confidence. His slide into the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft came after reports that coaches around the league viewed him as “too cocky.”

 

“I don’t know,” McCarron said in an interview on Tuesday. “I didn’t worry about that. I really could care less.”

 

Had to bide his time with the Bengals

 

Instead of getting a shot to compete for a starting spot somewhere in the NFL, McCarron got drafted by a team that already had an established starter. The Bengals told him that he’d have to wait his turn. After McCarron missed the entire 2014 season due to shoulder tightness, he got an opportunity relatively quickly.

 

Dalton missed the stretch run in 2015 due to a thumb injury, and McCarron helped the Bengals win the AFC North title. In the first round of the playoffs, he threw what should have been the game-winning touchdown to A.J. Green before the Bengals imploded late in the fourth quarter.

 

The loss stuck with everyone who was a part of it. But unlike the rest of his teammates, McCarron didn’t get to play meaningful snaps in another NFL game for another four years.

 

“In the game of football, you’ve got to be short-minded and let things go quickly,” McCarron said. “It’s a part of football and a part of my journey.”

 

 

Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron helped the Bengals get into the playoffs in 2015 as he filled in for an injured Andy Dalton.

 

In 2016 and 2017, McCarron was stuck as the Bengals’ backup. The Bengals reportedly were only interested in trading McCarron if they received a first-round pick in return. Even though McCarron looked like a starting-caliber quarterback in 2015, he spent the next two years on the bench.

 

At the end of the 2016 season, McCarron told the Bengals during his exit interview that he was ready to see what he could do as a starter. The Bengals told McCarron how much they valued him, and he ended up back in Cincinnati in 2017.

 

“I didn’t know if there would be a trade or not,” McCarron said. “I also had no problem coming back here. I love playing for this organization. I love the city. I was in a win-win situation.”

 

 

After leading the Bengals into the playoffs in 2015, Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron was stuck as the backup for the next two years before becoming a free agent.

 

In the middle of the 2017 season, McCarron thought that he was finally getting his opportunity. The Bengals agreed to a trade deadline deal with the Cleveland Browns, but the proper paperwork wasn’t submitted to the NFL in time.

 

Trade to the Browns fell through

 

So instead of starting for the Browns down the stretch, he was Dalton’s backup again.

“I still have no clue,” McCarron said. “One minute, your agent says you’re getting traded and you start packing. Then, a couple minutes after the trade deadline, it didn’t go through. It was all over the place. You go with the flow.”

 

McCarron became a free agent at the end of the 2017 season and signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Buffalo Bills. When he signed the deal, McCarron was sure that he’d get the chance he had waited for to compete for a starting spot.

 

Then, the Bills drafted quarterback Josh Allen in the first round, and their plans changed. Buffalo ended up sticking with Nathan Peterman as the veteran quarterback on their roster, and the Bills traded McCarron to the Oakland Raiders for a fifth-round pick before the start of the 2018 season.

 

“I thought I played really well in camp in Buffalo,” McCarron said. “There was a difference in opinion on who (Bills head coach Sean McDermott) wanted at quarterback compared to what some other people thought. Sean had the ultimate say. So they decided to trade me.”

 

With the Raiders, McCarron backed up an entrenched starter in Derek Carr. The Raiders cut him at the end of the 2018 season, and he didn’t have another suitor who was interested in giving him a chance to compete for the starting quarterback spot. He backed up DeShaun Watson with the Houston Texans for the next two years and then signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2021 to back up Matt Ryan.

During the preseason that year, McCarron tore his ACL on a non-contact play. “That was it,” McCarron said. The Falcons cut him.

 

Three years later, McCarron views the recovery process as a positive. He learned that bad eating habits would increase swelling in his knee, so he completely changed his diet. McCarron became a better athlete as he rehabbed, and he wanted to get back in the NFL in 2022.

 

During the season, he had a few workouts with teams that were looking for practice squad quarterbacks. The San Francisco 49ers reached out to him. The New York Giants were going to sign McCarron at one point after quarterback Daniel Jones suffered an ankle injury, but Jones recovered quickly and McCarron didn’t receive an offer.

 

McCarron showed his talents in XFL

 

McCarron felt like he had more left in the tank, and his sons wanted to watch him play. He spent last spring in the XFL and won the league’s MVP award.

 

When the XFL season was over, McCarron said that he got a few calls from teams that were interested in bringing him in for training camp.

 

“During that time, my son was playing travel baseball,” McCarron said. “I wanted to travel with him and the family and watch him play. I’m glad I chose to do that. Everything happens for a reason, and it led to me coming back here.”

 

Then in September, Burrow was struggling with his calf injury and practice squad quarterback Will Grier signed with the New England Patriots. At the time, Browning was the only fully healthy quarterback in the building.

 

The Bengals brought McCarron in for a workout and signed him to the practice squad on Sept. 23.

“He has played a lot of football, whether it was in the XFL last year, or all the years that he played in the NFL,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “And so there's confidence there that this guy can go in and this isn't foreign to him. He's a two-time national champion. He's done a lot of great things in his career.”

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron briefly filled in for Jake Browning last Sunday and threw a completion on his first pass.

 

McCarron’s first snaps in four years were a whirlwind. Last Sunday, Browning left the game against the Colts with a cramp in his hand. McCarron was thrown into the game without a chance to warm up or talk to the coaches. Taylor had enough confidence in McCarron to call a pass on 3rd and 6. The throw down the field wasn’t there, but McCarron went through his reads and checked the ball down for a completion short of the sticks on third down.

 

The Colts fumbled the ensuing punt, which gave McCarron another opportunity. On 3rd and 8 from the Colts 10-yard line, he connected with wide receiver Tee Higgins in the back of the end zone. The play was overturned due to an offensive pass interference penalty, but Tripp (7 years old) and Cash (who turns 5 years old this week) still got a memory out of it.

 

“My kids saw dad throw the ball, and they saw Tee catch it,” McCarron said. “It was awesome.”

After the game, Tripp and Cash were celebrating with AJ in the locker room. Maybe, AJ thought, he’ll have many more moments like this one.

 

“It’s been a heck of a run, but I don’t think I’m done playing by any means,” McCarron said. “This is probably the first time in my career where I’ve ever been on a staff where people on the staff have a bunch of opportunities to get other jobs and get head coaching jobs. I show on a daily basis that I can still move and throw it around. If people believe in me moving forward, in practice I’ve shown I can still play at a high level. But I’m taking it day-by-day.”

 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/heck-run-bengals-quarterback-aj-185633472.html

[claptonrocks]

Jaime made mention of "when he comes back down to earth".

 

What if he doesn't and keeps Rollin?

I think his elevation is sustainable.