With Mitch Trubiksy a free agent, Buffalo is out of QBs
The Buffalo Bills only have one QB on their roster signed for the 2022 season. Thankfully, he’s one of the best in the NFL, but Josh Allen can’t play every snap of every game, break down tape alone, and sit alone in position group meetings.
How did we get here?
The first shoe dropped partway through the 2021 season, when Jake Fromm was signed off Buffalo’s practice squad to go to the New York Giants. Seeing a chance at playing time and potentially earning a larger role around the NFL, Fromm dove in with both feet and ended up starting games for the Giants down the stretch. Sure he has a 45% completion percentage and a 1-to-3 TD-to-INT ratio, but it’s more playing time than he would have had in Buffalo. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft to develop as the backup to Allen, but he wasn’t good enough to stick on the active roster in that role.
Davis Webb was another practice-squad quarterback, and when the season ended he didn’t immediately sign with the Bills on a futures contract. We knew that was a bit odd, and then a few weeks later after offensive coordinator Brian Daboll became the New York Giants’ head coach, Webb signed in Jersey. He also has a better path toward playing time with the Giants than with the Bills.
Mitch Trubisky signed only a one-year deal and he’s set to become a free agent next month. He will also want the chance to earn playing time somewhere, and he should go to a team that is looking for a starter to compete.
The closest thing Buffalo has to a backup QB is on their coaching staff, where new assistant Kyle Shurmur was on the Washington Football Team practice squad last year after stints with the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bills need to address the backup QB position with three new players this offseason. Like we said earlier, we are thankful QB1 is locked down.