By Jordan Long
The Atlanta Falcons fell to 0-2 in preseason play after losing 37-17 to Miami. The loss to Miami was devastating because backup quarterback AJ McCarron was lost for the year after he tore his ACL.
McCarron agreed to become the backup in Atlanta, agreeing to a 1 year, $1.075 million contract in the offseason. He brought in 6 years of NFL experience. McCarron started 4 games in his career. McCarron’s record is not impressive at 2-2. He passed for 1,173 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. The Falcons thought if anything happens to starter Matt Ryan, at least McCarron had NFL playing experience.
McCarron saw action in both of the Falcons game, starting against the Dolphins. The injury took place with 10:21 left in the 2nd quarter. It was a noncontact play where he handed the ball off to running back Qadree Ollison. He tried to get up but couldn’t. He was helped off the field by the training staff. Atlanta was hoping for the best but McCarron will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
According to ESPN.com, Head Coach Arthur Smith said, “I really feel for AJ McCarron. Any time something like that happens and it’s non-contact, it’s tough when you know what these guys put into it. I feel for AJ. We’ll obviously get the MRI to confirm, but he’s heartbroken. He had bounced back and he was out there fighting, fighting for his team and trying to get the extra yards.”
The Falcons are thin at quarterback now. They have starter Matt Ryan and backup Feleipe Franks. Franks is not a reliable option if Ryan goes down. Franks a rookie and is still learning the NFL game. He may not do a lot if he needs to go into a regular season game because Franks is still trying to understand NFL defenses.
The Falcons could look into the free agent market now. The options there are Blake Bortles, Josh Rosen, and Robert Griffin III. They all have NFL experience. It would make sense to have a quarterback who has played the NFL game behind Ryan. All of them could at least do something and move the ball down field if called upon. Of course, the Falcons could wait until after the last cut down date of August 31st. There could be a veteran quarterback that was let go as well who might be a better option.
Atlanta is going to do what is best for the team moving forward. They know backup quarterback is an area they need to upgrade. They will do so but it’s a just a matter of who they feel is the right fit. Atlanta takes on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday to wrap up preseason
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