What's better for Alabama Crimson Tide football fans than having four former quarterbacks in the National Football League?
How about five?
Saturday afternoon, the Cincinnati Bengals turned to a familiar face and signed one of its former players, AJ McCarron, to the practice squad. The transaction was largely seen as a long-term insurance move due to Joe Burrow dealing with a calf injury. His status for Monday night’s game vs. the Los Angeles Rams remains uncertain.
Burrow re-injured his calf last week against the Baltimore Ravens. If he's unable to go, the Bengals are expected to start Jake Browning. When Will Grier was recently off their practice squad earlier this week by the Patriots, the Bengals signed Reid Stinnett.
McCarron was one of two quarterbacks working out for the Bengals on Saturday, the other being Trace McSorely. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the signing.
If McCarron is added to the 53-man roster he'll join Jalen Hurts, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young as former Crimson Tide quarterbacks active in the NFL. However, the other four are 25 years old or younger
McCarron was originally drafted by the Bengals out of Alabama in the fifth round (No. 164 overall) in 2014. The three-year starter for the Crimson Tide from 2011-13 spend four seasons in Cincinnati, and then bounced around the league with the Bills, Raiders, Texans and Falcons. Overall, he's played in 17 games (11 with the Bengals), and had 1,173 career passing yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
The 33-year-old played in the spring with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL after suffering a torn ACL in 2021, which led to his sitting out the 2022 season. McCarron completed 203 of 295 attempts for 2,150 yards with a league-leading 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games, while becoming a personal favorite for co-owner Dwayne Johnson@TheRock.
He tweeted: "Takes less money signing with us over the @NFL because he wanted his little boys to see him play. Now he’s 2-0 and led his team to back to back exciting last minute wins. I’d say he’s creating some memories for his boys. AJ’s decision means a helluva lot to me, personally."
Incidentally, the USFL and XFL are in talks to merge spring football leagues, according to multiple reports
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