Buffalo Bills may have crisis at backup quarterback: Players they could sign
Josh Allen has been the most durable quarterback in the NFL ever since he returned from an elbow injury that cost him four games in the middle of his rookie season for the Buffalo Bills in 2018.
Since that time, Allen has not missed a game and his 98 consecutive starts counting the postseason is the longest active streak among quarterbacks.
UPDATE: Buffalo Bills sign former Pac-12 star with short NFL resume to fill need at quarterback
Because of Allen’s durability, there has never been much concern about who the Bills’ backup QB is. They’ve been extremely lucky the last five years that Matt Barkley, Mitchell Trubisky, Case Keenum, and Kyle Allen never had to take a meaningful regular-season snap, but that doesn’t mean they can ignore the position and hope that Allen can defy the NFL injury odds and continue to be an indestructible force.
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The Bills are in crisis mode at QB2 because Trubisky injured his knee in the 9-3 preseason victory over Pittsburgh Saturday, but even if it turns out that he’s fine - Sean McDermott did not have an update after the game - his play is creating angst which is nothing new for him in his disappointing career.
Re-signing Trubisky (he was Allen’s backup in 2021) never made much sense because he has proven in stints with the Bears (2017-20) and Steelers (2022-23) that he’s simply not good enough to win consistently in the NFL.
The Bills sold this transaction to the fan base by saying Trubisky is familiar with the Bills’ system, even though it has changed slightly since he was last here now that Joe Brady is the offensive coordinator. He’s a good guy, Allen loves him, and hey, once upon a time the Bears made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
But what overrides all of that is the simple fact that Trubisky, who turns 30 years old Tuesday, just isn’t very good. He got the start against Pittsburgh because McDermott played it safe with Allen on a soggy field and held him out of the game, and Trubisky was unimpressive in the first half.
Even though he was playing with the first-string offense, he held the ball too long which led to two sacks, he did not push the ball downfield and on one of the few times he did he air-mailed a pass intended for tight end Quintin Morris and the pass was intercepted.
Then he got hurt during his lone scoring drive which was set up by his two best plays, a 17-yard strike to Morris and a 27-yard catch and run by Zach Davidson. He finished that series with two incompletions from the 8-yard-line, though the first to Keon Coleman on a slant at the goal line probably should have been caught, but the rookie short-armed it anticipating being hit by the safety.
Quarterback Ben DiNucci signed just days earlier
With Trubisky down, the Bills had to put in Ben DiNucci, who they just signed five days earlier, to finish out the game.
DiNucci, who has thrown 43 career passes in the NFL, was playing golf and chilling when the Bills called last week because their original No. 3 QB on the depth chart, Shane Buechele, suffered a neck injury in the loss to the Bears and is sidelined indefinitely.
Of course it was pretty clear via his performance against the Bears that Buechele’s not capable of being a competent No. 2 and neither is DiNucci, so if Trubisky is going to miss time, general manager Brandon Beane needs to replace him.
Who could the Buffalo Bills sign to be backup quarterback?
One name that has come up is 36-year-old Ryan Tannehill who is currently unemployed after the Tennessee Titans released him in the spring. Nice idea, but the problem there is Tannehill is surely weighing his options to see if a starting opportunity comes available and he probably won’t want to join the Bills just to carry a clipboard.
Among the other available QBs, the list is frightful and includes Brian Hoyer, Blaine Gabbert, A.J. McCarron and Trevor Siemian.
Perhaps Beane can wait until cut day on Aug. 27 to see which quarterbacks who weren’t good enough to earn a No. 2 or practice squad spot hit the open market, but again, it’s going to be slim pickings.
One player who might warrant consideration is Bailey Zappe, currently the fourth QB in New England who probably isn’t going to survive in a battle with veteran Jacoby Brissett, and rookie draft picks Drake Maye and Joe Milton III.
Zappe, the Patriots’ fourth-round pick in 2022, has made eight NFL starts (4-4 record) and working with a terrible New England offense he has completed 63.2% of his passes with 11 TDs and 12 interceptions.
My expectation is that if Trubisky is ready for the regular season, he’s going to be the backup, and in that case McDermott, a faith-based man, will hit his knees every night and pray that he never has to use him.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills have crisis at backup QB: Should they sign Ryan Tannehill?
