Many in Tuscaloosa will never forget QB AJ McCarron.

Sure, he did marry Katherine Webb. This alone is a fantastic accomplishment. However, the former Alabama signal-caller also was a two-time SEC Champion, a first-team All-American as a senior, and a three-time National Champion.

A fifth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2014, he’s been the backup to starter Andy Dalton for the past few years. While he doesn’t have a ton in the way of experience, McCarron may find himself becoming a hot commodity in this offseason.

According to an executive in the NFL, McCaron may be the best quarterback available for a team in need of an upgrade:

“I wouldn’t feel good about making a major commitment to any of these quarterbacks. If I had to choose one, I would go after McCarron. Ideally, you get him for a late second- or early third-round pick. Then, if it doesn’t work out, you draft a QB in 2018.”

In his career, McCarron has played in seven games — starting three. He’s thrown for 854 yards and six touchdowns to only two interceptions. McCarron completed passes at a 66.4-percent clip.

His sample size isn’t overly big. It certainly isn’t comparable to the likes of Kirk Cousins or Tony Romo. With that said, one has to look at value.

The price in landing Romo, Cousins, or even Jimmy Garoppolo figures to be far greater than it would be for McCarron. In addition, McCarron spent the vast majority of his rookie season on the non-football injury list. As such, he won’t hit unrestricted free agency for another two years.

When compared to Garoppolo, the New England backup’s contract expires after this upcoming year.

Sitting behind Dalton enabled McCarron to take his time in developing as a passer. The Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin had this to say on the former Alabama star (per Cincinnati.com):

“AJ’s done a really good job of taking advantage of the opportunities he’s been given. AJ’s a competitor. AJ wants to be a starting quarterback. Those are traits that you want to see in a guy. You don’t want guys that are content with their role if it’s not as big as what it could be. AJ is used to the big stage and when he got on it, he produced.

So he’s become a very valuable piece of our team. Even though you don’t see him on the field that much, he’s become an extremely valuable piece of our team. We’re proud of the way he’s handled it. We’re proud of the way that he goes about his work, the support he gives Andy and the rest of the offense I think is underestimated. He is a big piece of what we do and he certainly is very capable.”