To say AJ McCarron had a successful collegiate career at Alabama would be an understatement. He had the most passing yards in program history with 9,019 and the second-most touchdowns with 77, and he won two national championships with the Crimson Tide.
McCarron was remarkable by any metric from 2010-13, but when his time to be drafted rolled around, pro scouts weren’t buying the hype. McCarron’s “weaknesses” section in his draft profile said he could make “bone-headed” decisions, an interesting indictment of a player who threw 77 touchdowns to 15 interceptions.
McCarron eventually went in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, 164th overall to the Bengals.
He began his rookie season third on Cincinnati’s depth chart behind Andy Dalton and Jason Campbell. McCarron was placed on injured reserve with shoulder issues to begin the year, making him ineligible for the first six weeks of the season.
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How many games has AJ McCarron started in the NFL?
McCarron won the Bengals’ backup job in his second season. He made three starts in 2015 after Dalton suffered a thumb fracture.
McCarron played well, going 2-1 and completing 65 percent of his passes for 552 yards, four touchdowns, and no picks. The Bengals ran a conservative offense with him at the helm, which seemed to suit McCarron just fine.
He made one more start after leaving Cincinnati (more on that later) for a total of four.
What was AJ McCarron’s grievance against the Bengals?
After the 2017 season, McCarron filed a grievance against the Bengals claiming he was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent because the team had stashed him on IR as a rookie. This was after the Bengals had tried to trade him to the Browns the previous season but the Browns failed to file the paperwork.
McCarron won his grievance and became a UFA. He signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Bills. McCarron competed for the starting job in 2018 but suffered what was initially diagnosed as a hairline fracture of his collarbone. A second opinion refuted that diagnosis.
What happened after McCarron signed with the Bills?
McCarron never played for the Bills; they traded him to the Raiders just before Week 1 of the 2018 season. The Raiders brought him in to back up Derek Carr. In 2019, he signed with the Texans after being let go by the Silver and Black. It was with Houston that he made his one other career NFL start, in the final game of the 2019 season. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 225 yards and an interception against the Titans.
McCarron re-signed with the Texans in 2020 but played sparingly again. In 2021, he joined the Falcons but tore his ACL in the preseason, rendering him out for the year.
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McCarron hasn’t played for a team since, but he did work out with the Giants alongside Jake Fromm recently with Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor both injured.
Jones was cleared to play Sunday against the Packers in London, which means it’s unlikely the Giants will take a flier on one of the quarterbacks they worked out.
McCarron will always be a part of Alabama history, something that could come up when the Crimson Tide square off against Texas A&M on Saturday. McCarron was 41 of 63 for 643 yards with five touchdowns, and two picks in two games against the Aggies. He was 1-1 against A&M in his collegiate career.
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