Atlanta Falcons have a much needed upgrade in A.J. McCarron

The Atlanta Falcons have spent the majority of Matt Ryan’s tenure without a legitimate backup option. This season with A.J. McCarron on the roster the Falcons have their best backup option in years.

The Atlanta Falcons signing A.J. McCarron was a move that slipped past many considering that fact he is likely inconsequential. Matt Ryan doesn’t have a history of being hurt and has been an iron man playing through injuries when he is banged up.

This is a team that has long had Matt Schaub or T.J. Yates as their backup options hardly players capable of stepping in and starting for any significant amount of time.

Atlanta Falcons certainly upgraded their backup quarterback position

It wasn’t long ago that McCarron was being considered for starting jobs around the League before a failed trade ended those aspirations. McCarron is far from an elite quarterback but he is a serviceable starter, a huge upgrade over any backup the Falcons have had recently.

A.J. spent his first three seasons backing up Andy Dalton before spending time with the Texans and the Raiders. Now a six-year veteran McCarron is great insurance on the off chance an aging Matt Ryan does face injury.

The Falcons dealt with this issue briefly a year ago having to insert Matt Schaub. The results pointed to the fact Schaub wasn’t the player he used to be and Atlanta needed to add another option in the off-season.

McCarron is the best of both worlds in a player capable of leading the offense and starting and yet not being a player fans will demand the team starts if Ryan were to struggle.

McCarron has completed 62.6 percent of his passes in limited chances in his career. He has 1,173-career passing yards and has tossed six touchdowns to three interceptions in his career.

He is a solid fit for the Atlanta Falcons and was one of their better signings in the off-season. Still, best case scenario he never throws a pass this season for Atlanta.