[VIDEO] Watch @10AJMcCarron become an official part of the #Bengals by signing his contract: http://t.co/rpBZ4aHBuS pic.twitter.com/qtcuAtMQtx
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) May 22, 2014
The Cincinnati Bengals signed their backup quarterback for the future when they inked former Alabama signal-call A.J. McCarron to a 4-year contract. The deal is worth $2.401 million and includes a nice $181,652 signing bonus. His base salary in '14 will be $465,413.
If McCarron plays out the entire contract with the Bengals while meeting certain incentives, the deal has a max value of $2.559 million.
Heading into the 2014 NFL Draft, most analysts and scouts projected McCarron as a third-round pick. Some even had A.J. going int the early part of the second round, depending on the run on quarterbacks.
For comparison, had McCarron gone in the third round, his deal would have been closer to $3 million overall with around a $600,000 signing bonus.
As of now, he and Matt Scott, who will earn just $420,00 in 2014 if he's on the 53-man roster, are the only two QBs signed through the 2015 season. However, Andy Dalton, set to earn $1.6 million in '14, is likely to sign a long-term extension soon. Scott and McCarron will be competing for the third-string QB spot, while the loser could get waived and attempted to be signed to the practice squad.
Jason Campbell is also signed to the roster, but he's only playing under a 1-year, $1.6 million deal. Combined, Bengals QBs are making a little over $4 million in '14 as of now.