The New England Patriots have not had a particularly great start to free agency. The likes of Danny Amendola, Dion Lewis, Malcolm Butler, and Nate Solder have already left the door, with no one of note coming the other way.

However, that could all change soon enough with the news that the Pats have offered free-agent quarterback AJ McCarron a contract.

McCarron spent his first four years in the league with the Cincinnati Bengals. He made just 11 total appearances during those four years, including three regular-season starts and a playoff start in 2015 when Andy Dalton went down to injury. He racked up 920 passing yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions in those 11 regular-season games.

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McCarron won his grievance against the Bengals earlier this offseason, which has allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent. However, so many quarterback vacancies have already been filled around the league within the last couple of days, and the number of conceivable landing spots for McCarron have dwindled significantly.

McCarron likely won’t the contract nor the opportunity to start that he was expecting this offseason, but at least he has a contract offer on the table if the report is indeed true. He’ll be on a contender like the Patriots, and being the backup to Tom Brady isn’t the worst gig in the world.

For the Patriots, McCarron would serve as an upgrade from their current backup quarterback in Brian Hoyer, who took over when they traded away Jimmy Garoppolo. But with their recent departures, particularly Solder, they have a lot of other pressing needs on the roster aside from backup QB that need their attention this offseason.