Buffalo Bills 2019 Roster Outlook: The quarterbacks

Derek Anderson

With Allen and Barkley both locked in, the team has their starter and backup for the foreseeable future. While Barkley is a six-year veteran, he is still 28 and some may prefer a more seasoned quarterback standing behind the two.

If only the Bills could find an older quarterback that knows the playbook, the coaching staff and front office, has 10-plus years of experience and probably would like to collect a paycheck for not playing.

Oh hey Derek.

Bringing back Derek Anderson makes a lot of sense for one more year. Allen is still finding his footing as a quarterback in the league and providing him consistency as he continues to grow is important. Keeping offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Barkley and Anderson all behind Allen and putting together a support team on and off the field will only help drive home what he has learned.

Anderson would cost little money and you would almost never dress him, essentially paying him to be a mentor. There is no doubt that Allen has turned a corner in his progression as a player and leader coming back from his elbow injury.

While his two starts were rather unimpressive this year, the plan here is for Anderson to never see the field. The plan is for Allen to stay healthy and continue his evolution from raw rookie quarterback to consistent franchise quarterback. With Barkley as his backup, it means that if anything was to happen to Allen, he would step in and still leave Anderson off the field.

Paying a few million to ensure the growth of the team’s prized investment is a small price to pay for what could be the franchise quarterback the team and fans have so desperately needed for so long.