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All offseason, the Bengals denied they were shopping backup quarterback AJ McCarron.

But somebody reportedly made an offer that would have been tough to pass on.

According to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, the Bengals were offered a second-round pick for the former fifth-rounder, but turned it down.

The preference was apparently to hang onto him because they’d have had to spend a pick to replace him to find a backup to Andy Dalton. Of course, there has been some uncertainty as to how long the Bengals could control his rights. He’s filed a motion to be credited with an accrued season for his rookie year, when the Bengals stashed him on the non-football injury list until December. If that’s not granted, he’d be a restricted free agent in 2018.

The Broncos were linked to McCarron, but Denver executive John Elway deemed that one “fake news,” apparently content to stick with the tandem nobody’s referring to “fire and fury” (Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch).