Former St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback A.J. McCarron will suit up for the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday after starting QB Joe Burrow was lost for the season with a wrist injury in Cincinnati’s last game.
McCarron, who last appeared in an NFL game in January 2021, will serve as backup to Jake Browning for Sunday’s kickoff against Pittsburgh.
McCarron, 33, was a fifth-round pick of the Bengals in 2014. He joined the Bengals’ practice squad in late September, and has previously played in 17 career NFL games with Cincinnati, Oakland and Houston, completing 109 of 174 passes for 1,1173 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
In 2021, McCarron sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing in an NFL preseason game for the Atlanta Falcons. He spent that season on injured reserve and didn’t return to football until the 2023 XFL season where he played for the St. Louis Battlehawks.
With the Battlehawks McCarron completed 68.8% of his passes for 2,150 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games.
The Battlehawks retain McCarron’s rights should he return to the XFL.
