A.J. McCarron‘s time with the Buffalo Bills was invariably brief.
The team traded McCarron to the Oakland Raiders on Saturday, according to multiple reports including NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Buffalo initially signed the 27-year-old quarterback to a two-year contract this off-season. The Bills are receiving a 2019 fifth-round pick in return.
Source: The #Raiders traded for QB AJ McCarron.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 1, 2018
Bills get back a fifth-round pick from the Oakland Raiders for A.J. McCarron, per source. https://t.co/bKlNE8viQx
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2018
Oakland Raiders Acquire A.J. McCarron From Buffalo Bills
The transaction to bring in McCarron certainly wasn’t the most high-profile move the Raiders made on Saturday. Earlier in the day, the team dealt All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears in exchange for multiple first-round picks. What also cleared the way for McCarron’s arrival was the release of Connor Cook.
McCarron dealt with injury and inconsistency during the preseason for the Bills. He completed 70 percent of his passes for 116 passing yards in the opener against the Carolina Panthers. But a week later against the Cleveland Browns, he was just 3/6 for 12 yards in a quarter of action. He also suffered a collarbone injury which ruled him out of Buffalo’s Week Three tussle with McCarron’s former team, the Cincinnati Bengals.
In the preseason finale against the Bears, McCarron played the entirety of the game. It wasn’t pretty for three of the four quarters. At one point in the third, his quarterback rating stood at 0.0. But then he led the team on a precipitous comeback in the fourth. The team ultimately erased a 24-point deficit en route to a 28-27 victory.
McCarron’s departure means that, for the time being, rookie Josh Allen and second-year man Nathan Peterman are the only two quarterbacks on the Bills roster. Meanwhile, McCarron joins former Bills first-round pick E.J. Manuel behind Derek Carr on the Raiders depth chart at the position. It’s hard to believe the Bills will stand pat with just two signal callers, so it will be interesting see who they bring in as a third quarterback.
