Bengals Signing QB AJ McCarron Amid Joe Burrow Injury, per Report

The veteran was drafted by Cincinnati in 2014.

With Joe Burrow’s status for Monday night’s game vs. the Rams still uncertain, the Bengals are signing AJ McCarron to their practice squad, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports.

McCarron was originally drafted by the Bengals out of Alabama in 2014, and he spent four seasons in Cincinnati before bouncing around the league through 2021. In his NFL career, he played in 17 games, 11 with the Bengals, and produced 1,173 passing yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.

After tearing his ACL in 2021, which resulted in him sitting out of the NFL last year, McCarron joined the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL in the spring, where he threw for 2,150 yards with a league-leading 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games. In his first two starts for the Battlehawks, McCarron produced back-to-back comeback wins, and he led St. Louis to a 7–3 record.

As for the Bengals, Burrow re-injured his calf in Week 2 vs. the Ravens, and the team has not determined whether he will play this week. If Burrow can’t go, Cincinnati will start backup Jake Browning, and also signed Reid Stinnett to the practice squad after the Patriots poached Will Grier off their practice squad earlier this week.