The Houston Texans signed former Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders quarterback AJ McCarron to a one-year, $3 million contract to back up Deshaun Watson. However, the club has yet to see him in any live action.
McCarron injured the thumb on his throwing hand on Aug. 6 during joint practices with the Green Bay Packers. Consequently, McCarron has sat out the entire preseason, and third-stringer Joe Webb has had the majority of the snaps under center.
Coach Bill O’Brien believes that the Texans will have McCarron in time to back up Watson when they open the regular season Sept. 9 at the New Orleans Saints.
“I think that AJ is on the right track,” O’Brien told reporters Monday. “I do. I think that he’s on the right track, so I would say as I stand here right now, I would say yes.”
Having McCarron behind Watson would provide more stability than Webb, even though the latter has a skill set more akin to Watson’s. McCarron compiled a 2-1 record for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015 to finish out the season as starter A.J. Dalton was injured.
“But I always reserve the right to change my mind,” O’Brien clarified.
