With quarterback Joe Burrow dealing with a calf injury, the Cincinnati Bengals are signing former Alabama All-American AJ McCarron to their practice squad.

Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Olivia Ray of WLWT-TV were among those reporting McCarron was in Cincinnati on Saturday to work out for the Bengals, with Ray tweeting a photo of McCarron wearing a No. 4 Bengals jersey with a football in his hand at the team’s facility.

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NFL Network then reported Cincinnati was adding McCarron to its roster as a member of the practice squad. Each NFL team is allowed to elevate two practice-squad members to active status for each game.

McCarron started his NFL career as a fifth-round draft choice of Cincinnati in 2014.

On this week’s episode of “Hear That Podcast Growlin’,” McCarron talked about how nice it would be to finish his football career with the Bengals.

“I can’t tell you how many times our family has talked about it,” McCarron said. “Just going back to Cincinnati and how awesome it would be to end my career there or retire a Bengal. I loved our time in Cincinnati. The four years were unbelievable. But you never know. I would definitely love a call and a chance to go back for sure.”

McCarron has been out of the NFL since the 2021 season, when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during an Atlanta Falcons’ preseason game on Aug. 21, 2021, and spent the year on injured reserve.

McCarron made a return to the field this year with the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, and he led the league in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passing-efficiency rating.

Burrow did not practice on Thursday and was listed as a limited participant on Friday on Cincinnati’s injury report as the Bengals prepare to play the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

The only other quarterback on Cincinnati’s active roster is Jake Browning, who has played four snaps in his NFL career.

Cincinnati has quarterback Reid Sinnett on its practice squad, but he joined the Bengals only on Friday. Sinnett was with Cincinnati in training camp and the preseason before being waived on Aug. 29.

The Bengals signed Stinnett after losing quarterback Will Grier from their practice squad. Grier was signed by the New England Patriots.

McCarron spent four seasons as a backup to Andy Dalton with the Bengals.

When Dalton suffered a broken thumb in 2015, McCarron started the final three games of the regular season and a postseason game, nearly leading the Bengals to their first playoff victory in 25 years before the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied in the waning moments for an improbable 18-16 win.

McCarron also played for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans before joining the Falcons before the 2021 season. During the six NFL seasons in which he has played, McCarron worked as a backup for a quarterback picked for the Pro Bowl four times.

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.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.