AJ McCarron

McCarron is on board for a second season in Houston after he signed a one-year, $4 million deal. He appeared in two games in 2019, including a meaningless final regular-season game. Second-string quarterback has been his role since breaking in with the Bengals in 2015, and so it will be in 2020. Starter Deshaun Watson has absorbed a lot of pounding the last two seasons (105 sacks), but he's been available for all 32 games, resting only for the 2019 finale before the playoffs.

The 27-year-old McCarron signed with the Texans during the offseason, his third employer in seven months after spending time with Buffalo and Oakland in 2018. He appeared in two games for the Raiders, throwing three passes, and enters the summer season as Houston's backup to starter Deshaun Watson. The Texans need Watson to remain healthy, obviously, for their postseason aspirations, but also because McCarron brings little experience. Since being drafted in the fifth round in 2014, the Alabama alum has appeared in 13 games and thrown 136 passes. Watson gutted through a chest injury and played all 16 games in 2018, but he took more hits than any other quarterback. If the offensive line doesn't protect better in 2019, McCarron could see his most action since 2015 when he played seven games for the Bengals. The Texans went hard after offensive linemen in the draft, so they do at least have a plan in place to keep Watson upright and McCarron off the field.

The Bills signed McCarron to a two-year deal in March, which tells you what the team thinks about his long-term prospects. He will start this year, though, unless first-round pick Josh Allen develops far quicker than expected. The backup in Cincinnati the last four years, McCarron doesn't have a strong arm, but he completed 64.7 percent of 133 attempts with the Bengals and threw only two interceptions. He's pretty much the opposite of Allen, who has a big arm but needs to develop his accuracy. Whoever wins the job - Nathan Peterman is also still around - will play behind an offensive line that lost three starters. And this is still a run-first offense powered by LeSean McCoy, which means the team probably won't throw too many more than the 476 passes it attempted last season. Only the Bears threw less (473). The Bills are also thin at receiver with Kelvin Benjamin, who underwent offseason knee surgery, the clear No. 1 option. Even if McCarron keeps the job, it will likely be more as a game manager.

After facing trade rumors in the offseason, McCarron will enter his fourth season with the Bengals since being drafted by the team in 2014. He didn't see any meaningful time as Andy Dalton's backup in 2016, but he showed the ability to step in when needed in 2015. If Andy Dalton is forced to miss time at any point in 2016 McCarron could quickly emerge as a fantasy option at the quarterback position.

After Andy Dalton suffered a fractured thumb in Week 14, McCarron was thrust into the starting position for the remainder of the season. In his last five games, including the wild-card loss to the Steelers, McCarron posted a 7:3 TD:INT ratio while throwing for over 1,000 yards. All reports say Dalton is completely cleared of his thumb injury and will be ready for the beginning of the season, meaning McCarron isn't likely to see much action barring any future injuries. The second-year man undeniably gained invaluable experience and likely gave the Bengals a considerable degree of confidence in the health of the backup quarterback position.

McCarron is expected to be Andy Dalton's backup in 2015. The 2014 fifth-round draft pick didn't take a snap in 2014 as he had a year to learn on the bench.

McCarron joins the Bengals after a hugely successful four-year college career at Alabama. With Andy Dalton undoubtedly Cincinnati's starting quarterback this season, McCarron will hope to learn from veteran second-stringer Jason Campbell as he transitions to the NFL.