Greg McElroy, Joey Galloway discuss how Alabama should manage Bryce Young's injury

Alabama has a big question on its hands heading into Week 6 against Texas A&M. Quarterback Bryce Young suffered an AC joint injury in last week’s win against Arkansas, and his status is in question for Saturday.

As the Crimson Tide evaluate the injury throughout the next few days, ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy believes the decision will come down to a couple of key factors.

“I think the biggest thing is: Can it get worse?” McElroy said Tuesday on ESPN’s College Football Live. “That’s the first thing that needs to be addressed. If it can get worse, then you run the risk of having to make the decision, ‘Do I play or do I not play?’ That’s the first thing that needs to get addressed here in the next couple of days. If he does decide to play, how do you deal with pain management? That’s the second part of the equation.

“If you’re dealing with pain — like he did on this particular throw trying to hit Traeshon Holden over the middle. As he delivered the football, you saw a little bit of a grimace and you saw that arm kind of go flat. Then he ran to the sidelines, threw his helmet in frustration and never returned to the game. When you try to put extra velocity on the football and you’re dealing with a sprain to your shoulder, it’s very, very hard to drive the ball down the field and drive it with the same level of command that you normally would when sitting at 100%. So this is a considerable injury, and if it has an effect on his potential to drive the football with velocity, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go with Jalen Milroe, who offered a bit of a spark in the run game.”

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Milroe took over early in the second quarter for Young on Saturday and finished the game 4-of-9 passing for 65 yards and a touchdown. However, his biggest contribution came on the ground as he totaled 91 yards rushing and a touchdown on just six carries.

Former NFL receiver Joey Galloway, sitting alongside McElroy, took from his own AC joint injury experience to offer an interesting perspective on Bryce Young’s situation. However, he also provided the caveat that the injury may affect Young differently because he plays quarterback.

“I don’t think it’s the smart play (to start Milroe) unless Bryce Young can’t go,” Galloway said. “I had an AC joint back a couple years ago when I played. They’re extremely painful. Now, I didn’t play quarterback, but my shoulder was killing me. From what I understood back then — now things change — but a couple of years ago, you couldn’t do anything to make it worse if you played with it.

“Now, it’s extremely painful. They say you can get a shot down in that joint to take the pain away. I’m scared of needles, so I didn’t take the shot. I just dealt with the pain. But again, I didn’t play quarterback. So if Bryce Young can go and play in this game, then absolutely go play. But again, I would be very surprised. If it’s an AC joint and he doesn’t get a shot in it, I would be very surprised if he can go play quarterback and throw the ball with any kind of velocity or accuracy.”

The injury to Bryce Young will certainly be one to monitor not only this week, but throughout the remainder of the season as Alabama aims for its seventh championship under Nick Saban.

The Crimson Tide are set to kick off against Texas A&M at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.