Raymond Anthony "A. J." McCarron Jr. (born September 13, 1990) is an American former professional football quarterback and current head coach of the Rhode Island UFL team of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, becoming the first quarterback to win consecutive BCS National Championship Games with victories in 2012 and 2013. McCarron also received the Maxwell, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, and Kellen Moore Awards.
McCarron was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft and played four seasons as a backup. He spent his next four seasons as a backup with the Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, and Atlanta Falcons, then spent two seasons as the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Battlehawks, a team that played initially in the XFL and then the United Football League (UFL).
In October 2025, McCarron announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama in the 2026 election. He dropped out in December of the same year.
Early life McCarron was born to Dee Dee Bonner and Tony McCarron on September 13, 1990. His younger brother, Corey, played tight end at Alabama but transferred to play fullback at Middle Tennessee State.
McCarron was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School from kindergarten to fourth grade before transferring to St. Paul's Episcopal School. At the age of five, McCarron was severely injured in a jet-ski accident and almost died. He first played football at Trimmier Park and then Langan Park in Mobile. McCarron played on the same park team as future college teammate Mark Barron. During McCarron's junior season of high school, St. Paul's went 14–1 and went on to win the state championship against Briarwood Christian School off a missed PAT. While attending St. Paul's, McCarron was recruited by several football programs in the Southeastern Conference, including Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, and Tennessee. On May 3, 2008, he committed to the Crimson Tide, becoming the only quarterback signed by Alabama for their 2009 recruiting class.
McCarron capped off his high school football career at the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
College career
2010 season In his first season at Alabama, McCarron accepted a redshirt and did not play during the season as the team went 14–0 to capture the 2009 National Championship over the Texas Longhorns. During his redshirt freshman year, McCarron did see some playing time, appearing in nine games as the Crimson Tide finished 10–3. His first collegiate touchdown pass came during the season opener when he connected with wide receiver Julio Jones on a 29-yard pass against San Jose State. McCarron passed for 389 yards and three touchdowns during the season. Against Auburn on Alabama's last possession McCarron came in for injured starter Greg McElroy. However, McCarron threw four straight incompletions to end the game as Auburn came back to win 28–27 after being down 24–0 in the second quarter.
2011 season After a tight competition for the starting quarterback position during spring practices, McCarron was named as the co-starting quarterback alongside Phillip Sims for the team's 2011 season opener versus Kent State, and later became the de facto starter by starting in every game. In his first collegiate start, McCarron threw for 226 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions as Alabama won 48–7. His first road start for Alabama came the following week, as the Tide traveled to State College, Pennsylvania. McCarron's performance of 163 yards with no turnovers helped Alabama defeat Penn State by a score of 27–11, which turned out to be the last loss for head coach Joe Paterno. Another solid performance, alongside running back Trent Richardson, helped McCarron get a victory in his first Southeastern Conference (SEC) start, a 38–14 win over #14 Arkansas.
During the course of his sophomore season, McCarron helped lead the Crimson Tide to an 11–1 overall record during the regular season, including 7–1 record in conference. Alabama's only loss of the season came during a 9–6 overtime defeat at the hands of #1-ranked LSU. During the game, McCarron completed 16-of-28 passes for 199 yards and an interception. By remaining unbeaten during the rest of the regular season, Alabama again met LSU at the Superdome for the national championship. His performance of 234 yards passing earned McCarron Offensive Player of the Game in a 21–0 rout of the Tigers. During his first season as starting quarterback, McCarron threw for 2,634 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions and led the team to the BCS National Championship.
2012 season
McCarron had a strong start in his second year as starting quarterback for Alabama as the Crimson Tide started off the season with a 9–0 record. His good start to the season, including a comeback victory over LSU, had several media members put McCarron as a dark horse candidate for the year's Heisman Trophy. His first interception, and Alabama's first loss, of the season came in the team's tenth game of the season.
In their first year in the SEC, Texas A&M and eventual Heisman-winner Johnny Manziel came into Bryant–Denny Stadium and upset Alabama 29–24. McCarron's second interception of the game seemingly sealed Alabama's loss, as he threw an interception on a fourth & goal pass with under two minutes remaining. Both McCarron and Alabama rebounded to remain unbeaten during the rest of the regular season, which led them to the 2012 SEC Championship Game versus Georgia. With the help of running back Eddie Lacy, Alabama battled the Bulldogs to win 32–28 and earn a shot to play for the 2013 BCS National Championship against No. 1 Notre Dame.
On December 12, 2012, ahead of their game against Notre Dame, McCarron announced that he would be coming back to Alabama for his senior season. On January 7, 2013, Alabama met Notre Dame for the 2013 BCS National Championship. The Fighting Irish were led by their defense and Heisman runner-up Manti Te'o to an unbeaten 12–0 regular season record. However, their defense was overmatched as Alabama rolled 42–14 to capture their third BCS National Championship in four years behind McCarron's 264 yards and four touchdown passes, which allowed him to become the first quarterback to win back-to-back BCS titles. During his junior season, McCarron threw for a school-record 30 touchdown passes in a season, as well as 49 touchdown passes over his career. He also had an NCAA-leading passer rating of 175.3. McCarron was named winner of the 2012 CFPA Quarterback Trophy on January 22, 2013.
2013 season McCarron made the cover of Sports Illustrated October 30, 2013, edition, which asked whether he was one of the best college players ever. At that time, McCarron (whose team was 10–0) was a long shot for the Heisman Trophy.
As a senior in 2013, McCarron was again a second-team All-SEC selection. During the season, he passed John Parker Wilson to become Alabama's all time passing yard leader. Alabama started the season with an 11–0 record before facing Auburn in the Iron Bowl. In the 34–28 loss, McCarron threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns, one of which was a 99-yard pass to Amari Cooper. The loss knocked Alabama out of contention for the SEC Championship. The Crimson Tide finished their season in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma. In the 45–31 loss to the Sooners, McCarron had 387 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in his final collegiate game. He also broke Greg McElroy's record for passing yards in a season, with 3,063. McCarron finished in second place in the Heisman Trophy voting that season.
Professional career Pre-draft Coming out of Alabama, McCarron was projected by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts to be drafted in the second or third round. He was praised for his game management and decision making, with the potential to become an NFL starter.
Cincinnati Bengals (first stint) 2014 season McCarron was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round (164th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft. Along with University of Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, McCarron's draft value drastically dropped during the draft, as he was the ninth quarterback selected, out of the total 14. It was reported that teams felt during pre-draft interviews that he came across cocky and over-confident. When asked what his best attribute was during an interview at the combine, McCarron responded, "Winning!"
On May 22, 2014, the Bengals signed McCarron to a four-year, $2.4 million contract with a $181,652 signing bonus. On August 30, he was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list due to shoulder soreness, meaning that McCarron would miss at least the first six weeks of the 2014 season. With Andy Dalton entrenched as the starting quarterback for the Bengals, and veteran Jason Campbell as his backup, the Bengals did not plan for McCarron to see significant playing time during his rookie season. On December 9, McCarron was activated after linebacker Vontaze Burfict was placed on injured reserve.
2015 season McCarron was named the backup quarterback to begin the season after beating out Keith Wenning and Terrelle Pryor during training camp.
During a Week 9 31–10 victory over the Cleveland Browns, McCarron made his NFL debut. Three weeks later, he completed his first career pass attempt for a three-yard completion in a 31–7 victory over the St. Louis Rams. In the next game, McCarron completed two of three passes for 19 yards during a 37–3 blowout road victory over the Browns.
During Week 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, starting quarterback Dalton fractured the thumb on his throwing hand while trying to make a tackle in the first quarter. McCarron came in and finished the 33–20 loss with 280 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. The following week, McCarron became the first Alabama quarterback to win an NFL game since Jeff Rutledge of the New York Giants in 1987. In his first career start against the San Francisco 49ers, McCarron completed 15-of-21 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown during the 24–14 road victory. The following week against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, he threw for 200 yards and a touchdown in the 20–17 overtime road loss. During the regular season finale against the Baltimore Ravens, McCarron recorded 160 passing yards and two touchdowns in the 24–16 victory.
McCarron finished the 2015 season with 854 passing yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions in seven games and three starts. The Bengals finished atop the AFC North with a 12–4 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #3-seed. During the Wild Card Round against the Steelers, McCarron completed 23-of-41 passes for 212 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the narrow 18–16 loss.
2016 season In 2016, McCarron only played in one game and recorded no statistics in a Week 6 35–17 loss to the New England Patriots.
2017 season
On October 31, 2017, the Bengals and Browns agreed on a deal to trade McCarron to Cleveland in exchange for a second and third-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft. However, the Browns failed to file the paperwork to the NFL before the trade deadline, nixing the trade. Four days later, it was reported that McCarron had filed a labor grievance against the Bengals asking to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2017 season as opposed to a restricted free agent. McCarron claimed that he was healthy enough to be removed from the non-football injury list during training camp in 2014 and that his rookie season should count as an accrued season towards unrestricted free agency.
On February 15, 2018, McCarron won the grievance and became a free agent to begin the 2018 season while also receiving lost salary with interest from the 2014 season. He finished the 2017 season completing seven of 14 passes for 66 yards in three games and no starts.
Buffalo Bills