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AJ McCarron leaves preseason game with injury: ‘He’s heartbroken’
By SDS Staff
Published:
AJ McCarron exited the Atlanta Falcons’ preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night with an injury to his right knee. Judging by Falcons coach Arthur Smith’s postgame comments, it looks to be a significant injury.
“I really feel for AJ McCarron,” Smith said in his postgame press conference. “Anytime something like that happens — it’s non-contact — it’s tough, when you know what these guys put into it. And so I feel for AJ. We’ll, obviously, get the MRI to confirm. He’s heartbroken. He had bounced back, and he was out there fighting, fighting for his team and trying to get the extra yards.
“I understand injuries are part of the game, but there’s a still human element, and so I feel for AJ.”
Smith was asked if McCarron’s injury is considered long-term.
“We just have to see the MRI. … We’ll have to see. It didn’t look good,” the coach told reporters.
McCarron, who has been in the NFL since 2014, signed with Atlanta this offseason after playing for the Houston Texans the previous two seasons. McCarron was expected to be Matt Ryan’s backup this season. Next on the Falcons’ depth chart is former Arkansas and Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks. Smith indicated Atlanta could look to bring in another QB if McCarron’s injury is serious.
“We have to assess and see what the injury is,” Smith said. “Until we get an MRI, we’ve seen things happen before. … If it is long-term, sure, we’ll continue to look there.”
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
