The Buffalo Bills haven’t had an issue with the starting quarterback position since Josh Allen came into the league. However, before he arrived, the Bills couldn’t find their franchise quarterback for a long time ever since Jim Kelly. Luckily, they don’t have to worry about it anymore as long as Allen is in his prime.
Now, the backup quarterback position is a different story. Obviously, having a franchise backup quarterback is not a thing, but it’s important to have a quality backup that can come in if needed and keep some of the continuity with the rest of the offense.
Bills have had lots of backup QB turnover behind Josh Allen
The Bills have had guys like Matt Barkley, Mitch Trubisky, Kyle Allen and Case Keenum back up Josh Allen at some point since 2018. Trubisky and Kyle Allen have had two stints with the team, with Allen being the current backup. However, it is not a great setup.
Allen hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2019 with the Carolina Panthers where he played in just 13 games and threw for 3,322 yards and 17 touchdowns to 16 interceptions. Throughout his career, Allen has played with the Panthers, Commanders, Texans, Bills, Steelers, and Lions.
Now with him being back in Buffalo, he is right now set up to be the backup for Josh Allen, but the Bills need to strongly consider bringing in more competition for him, and Chris Landers of FanSided.com put together a trade proposal that may not seem like an upgrade, but it is.
Bills trade proposal has them landing QB Kenny Pickett for essentially nothing
Landers has put together a trade proposal that would have the Bills trading for Carolina Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett in exchange for a 2027 7th-round pick, and the Bills already have two of them from their Day 3 draft trade with the Las Vegas Raiders.
"Pickett's stock could hardly be lower right now; his time as a starter in Pittsburgh was largely disastrous, and he's spent the last two years looking like a replacement-level quarterback while backing up in Philadelphia and Las Vegas. But he is a QB with a pulse and NFL game experience, and this time of year, that should be worth at least a seventh-round pick." said Landers.
"Josh Allen has proven famously indestructible in his NFL career to date. But expecting that to last forever is playing with fire, especially considering just how much punishment he takes over the course of a full season. And right now, all that Buffalo has behind its MVP candidate is Kyle Allen — who hasn't started a game since 2022, when he completed 51.3 percent of his passes with one TD and two picks in a loss to the Cleveland Browns while in Houston — and practice squad option Shane Buechele." Landers added.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Pickett is a massive upgrade over Kyle Allen, but Pickett has been a starter in this league when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In addition, he was part of a Super Bowl-winning team with the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2024. When it comes to his time with the Steelers, it’s important to note that he had Matt Canada as his offensive coordinator, in which he led an extremely predictable offense.
Now obviously, with the Bills and Panthers playing this Saturday in Orchard Park, a trade involving Pickett seems extremely unlikely, especially since their rookie quarterback in Haynes King is set to miss time with a hamstring injury. However, after that, you can never say never.
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