After the trade of Tyrod Taylor to Cleveland, the Bills had just one quarterback under contract on their roster in Nathan Peterman. On Wednesday they addressed that pressing need coming to terms with free agent QB A.J. McCarron.
McCarron, 27, entered the free agent market eager to land a starting job. He's made just four starts in his four NFL seasons with the Bengals as he served as a backup to Cincinnati starter Andy Dalton. At age 27, McCarron is entering the prime of his career.
All four of McCarron's starts came in the 2015 season when he completed 62 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and one interception.
McCarron (6-3, 215) appeared in three games for Cincinnati in 2017, but threw just 14 passes as two of his appearances came in blowout losses.
He has appeared in 11 regular season games in his career and has completed almost 65 percent of his passes (64.7%) with six touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 93.6.
McCarron had a storied college career at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban. During his tenure with the Crimson Tide he became the only quarterback to win back-to-back BCS national titles.
He was named the national title game's Offensive Player of the Game as a sophomore when the Crimson Tide defeated LSU 21-0 (2012), only to follow it up with another national title in a 42-14 romp over No. 1 ranked Notre Dame the next season (2013).
The Bengals made him a fifth-round pick the following year in the 2014 NFL draft.
