Bengals vs Buccaneers: "Sounds like" AJ McCarron will play

According to the Bengals.com, it "sounds like" backup quarterback AJ McCarron will make his preseason debut this Monday night in Tampa Bay. McCarron, who missed Friday's preseason opener against the New York Giants with an injury, suffered a pulled rib cartilage last week.

Per reports, McCarron did some individual work during practice on Monday but concluded the session with ice wrapped around his ribs.

As hard as it is to believe, McCarron hasn't taken a single snap during a competitive game, preseason or otherwise, during his NFL career. He arrived in Cincinnati, as a fifth round draft pick last year, with a pre-existing shoulder injury and didn't practice until he was activated off the physically unable to perform list last December.

Even then, his repetitions were insignificant because Andy Dalton and the Bengals were facing an intense regular season run to qualify for the postseason; he was listed as the third-string quarterback behind Dalton and Jason Campbell.

Cincinnati is scheduled to play Tampa Bay on ESPN's Monday Night Football next Monday. It may very well be McCarron's NFL debut.