Bengals release backup quarterback AJ McCarron prior to free agency
The Cincinnati Bengals have made their first offseason move in of the offseason by releasing quarterback AJ McCarron.McCarron was scheduled to be a free agent upon the start of the new league year in March. Now he'll be free to pursue other opportunities immediately. McCarron, who will be a 10th-year player in 2024, joined Cincinnati's […]
The Cincinnati Bengals have made their first offseason move in of the offseason by releasing quarterback AJ McCarron.
McCarron was scheduled to be a free agent upon the start of the new league year in March. Now he'll be free to pursue other opportunities immediately.
McCarron, who will be a 10th-year player in 2024, joined Cincinnati's practice squad prior to Week 3 of the 2023 regular season while Joe Burrow was still dealing with his calf injury. He then was signed to the active roster in Week 14, and played in two games for the Bengals near the end of the season.
Long before this past season, McCarron was a fifth-round pick by the Bengals in the 2014 NFL Draft and spent four years with the team. His most notable moment came when he nearly won the club's first playoff game in 25 years against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2016 playoffs.
That game has since been reduced to infamous due to how the Bengals lost, but McCarron has always been viewed in good light by the fanbase.
More recently, McCarron thrived in the XFL for the St. Louis Battlehawks, who are now a founding member of the XFL Conference in the UFL. His reemergence in professional football helped him return to the Bengals when they needed quarterback help.
The Bengals still have Jake Browning to back up Burrow at quarterback, but Browning is an exclusive rights free agent. They can easily retain him with a qualifying offer, which Browning will be forced to accept. Burrow and Browning are the only two QBs on the roster at this time.
Eight pending free agents Bengals should re-sign before free agency begins
Cincinnati has plenty of decisions to make prior to free agency arriving.
