Falcons QB AJ McCarron ‘heartbroken’ after knee injury

Atlanta quarterback AJ McCarron sustained an injury to his right knee during an NFL preseason game on Saturday night, and while the Falcons did not detail the extent of the injury, the postgame comments of coach Arthur Smith did not sound promising.

“I really feel for AJ McCarron,” Smith said. “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.”

Signed in the offseason to back up Matt Ryan in 2021, McCarron started against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night. After the fourth play of the Falcons’ third possession, McCarron was examined on the field by the Atlanta training staff. The former Alabama All-American walked off the field, then walked to the locker room.

On his final play, McCarron had handed off. On the previous snap, he had scrambled 7 yards for a first down.

Asked after the game if he considered McCarron’s injury to be long-term, Smith said: “We just have to see the MRI. … We’ll have to see. It didn’t look good.”

In a 23-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans last week in the Falcons’ preseason opener, McCarron started and completed 5-of-12 passes for 36 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Against Miami, McCarron completed 3-of-6 passes for 43 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

With McCarron out, undrafted rookie Feleipe Franks played the remainder of the game at quarterback for Atlanta. Franks completed 4-of-9 passes for 46 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and ran for 32 yards on three carries as Atlanta lost to the Dolphins 37-17.

Smith was asked if McCarron’s injury put the Falcons in the market for a quarterback.

“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.”

McCarron earned All-State honors in football and baseball at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile and helped the Saints win the AHSAA Class 5A football championship in 2007.

McCarron was the starting quarterback for the Alabama teams that won the BCS national championships for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In 2013, he became the Crimson Tide’s all-time passing leader, won the Maxwell Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

McCarron was preparing for his eighth NFL season. He has made four regular-season starts and one playoff start while backing up Andy Dalton, Derek Carr and Deshaun Watson.

McCarron made his first NFL start on Dec. 20, 2015, when he led the Cincinnati Bengals to a 24-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers and became the first former Alabama player to start at quarterback for the winning team in an NFL regular-season game since Nov. 15, 1987.