Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis expresses excitement for quarterback AJ McCarron

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson typically field a ridiculous amount of questions concerning quarterback Andy Dalton. It's not like the same questions that were asked at the Senior Bowl will undergo a significant oil change one month later in Indianapolis. Then again... those on both sides of the argument are sustained by these little chats.

Lewis was also asked about Cincinnati's backup quarterback AJ McCarron on Thursday. He didn't hold back his overall "excitement".

"I will tell you that we are excited about him for the future. He didn't get any opportunity to play at all this year. He didn't get to practice the last six weeks, including the playoff week," said Lewis.

"I tried to do things in practice during the week to get A.J. opportunity to do real football so he wasn't just working against our defense. I wanted him to have an opportunity to work within the game-plan and I think he has a great mind for football. We think he has the ability to be a good NFL quarterback and passer. Obviously he has the competition nature, the makeup of guys that have been very productive in the NFL. So I am excited about AJ and his future. He’s one of our reserve quarterbacks so hopefully the opportunity gets a little limited right now."

After being selected in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft, McCarron was finally cleared for practice on Nov. 18 with a preexisting shoulder issue. Three weeks later, he joined the team's 53-man roster.