Dwayne Johnson sends A.J. McCarron a message as XFL QB joins Bengals in the wake of Joe Burrow’s injury
Joe Burrow and Cincinnati Bengals fans got a dose of Deja Vu in recent days after it was announced the team would be signing AJ McCarron to help in light of Joe Burrow's ongoing injury concern.
Some fans made their opinions known but no one perhaps louder than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Posting about the development on Twitter/X, the XFL owner applauded McCarron's promotion into the NFL. Here's how he put it:
"Love this. Congratulations AJ, I’ll be rooting you on this @NFL @Bengals season!! Thank you for being such a tremendous leader for us in the @XFL2023 @XFLBattlehawks Go be great! #LeagueOfOpportunity #XFL"
AJ McCarron returns to Bengals for second stint
The XFL appears to be rapidly sliding into the "Minor League" role for the NFL and this is the latest example.
Just like teams do in the MLB, the Bengals decided to pluck a player from another league when in need instead of turning to the players already available with more recent ties in the NFL.
McCarron's last NFL action came back in 2020, when he saw action in two games for the Houston Texans. In those games, he completed one pass for 20 yards.
The quarterback was originally selected by the Bengals in the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent three years with the team there before landing with the Oakland Raiders. Then, in 2019, he arrived in Houston.
He did play for the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason of 2021, but he was injured and hasn't been seen in the league since.
In the NFL, the 33-year-old quarterback has gone 2-2 in his career, throwing for six touchdowns and three interceptions. In the XFL last season, AJ McCarron completed 175 of 260 passes for 18 touchdowns, six interceptions, and 1730 yards.
Will Joe Burrow play on Monday Night Football?
The Bengals quarterback, fans hope, will be Joe Burrow. However, he's been dealing with a lingering calf injury that has been questionable all week long.
With the team at 0-2, having the quarterback not on the field might all but doom the team to lose the rematch of Super Bowl LVI.
According to USA Today and the Cincinnati Enquirer, the quarterback will "try to play." This means that he's expected to set foot on the field, but there are no guarantees for how long.
He could play all four quarters or he could just make a cameo appearance. One can only wait and see what transpires as the situation remains fluid.