Buffalo Bills make surprising move, cut second quarterback in three days
In a somewhat surprising move, it appears the Bills are releasing quarterback Ben DiNucci, two days after they cut Anthony Brown. Those two shared all the snaps in the preseason finale against Carolina with Josh Allen held out and Mitchell Trubisky nursing a knee injury.
Thus, for now, Allen is the only healthy quarterback on the roster.
Of course, this could mean that Trubisky’s injury is not serious and he’ll be ready to go for the regular season, if not at some point during the next two weeks of practice.
It could also mean that the Bills already have a plan to sign a quarterback, or even two, once teams begin to make players available. If Trubisky isn’t healthy and has to miss regular season games, the Bills need a backup plus a practice squad QB.
Will Ben DiNucci make the Buffalo Bills practice squad?
And there is a chance that DiNucci is the player the Bills target for the practice squad. Cutting him now could be a sign that they are confident he won’t get picked up by another team, and he could be added back to the roster on Wednesday when teams build their practice squads.
DiNucci had been cut by the Broncos in the spring after he spent 2023 on their practice squad. He was signed by the Bills a couple weeks ago and was thrust into game action against the Steelers. In the Carolina game he played the first half and completed 11 of 15 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and afterward, coach Sean McDermott sang his praises.
“Yeah, he just looks like he’s in command,” McDermott said. “Last week in Pittsburgh, when he had a similar run-up to what Anthony had this week with his time on task in our offense, just in command, not fazed by anything, it wasn’t too big, and played smart football.”
Well, that’s just further proof that rarely are NFL coaches going to give you straight talk when it comes to potential personnel decisions.
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: Ben DiNucci cut by Buffalo Bills: Will he return to practice squad?
