The Falcons signed A.J. McCarron after the first day of the NFL Draft, and ever since then, the coaching staff has proceeded as though he would be Matt Ryan’s backup. Through the first game and a quarter of preseason, nothing had happened to suggest that would change.
The Falcons and McCarron got awful news today, though, that after a non-contact injury suffered against the Dolphins, the veteran quarterback will miss the entire 2021 season. That’s devastating for McCarron, who will have to work his way back in 2022, and now the Falcons don’t have a backup quarterback unless Feleipe Franks somehow won them over in an uneven second preseason game.