For a long time, and I mean a really long time, the Buffalo Bills could not get the quarterback position right. In this century alone, Bills Mafia was punished with the revolving door of quarterbacks that came into the building and then were out in a few short years. It took for Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane to come to Buffalo to finally deliver a franchise quarterback in Josh Allen.
The first two years of his career were a little rocky, but with high upside. Then in 2020, it was solifieid; the Bills had their franchise guy moving forward and he just won his first NFL MVP award.
With the Bills having Allen under center, they do not have to worry about being in any quarterback cycle as long as he is in his prime. At the same time, it doesn’t mean that the Bills shouldn’t ignore the backup quarterback position.
Bills must move on from Mitch Trubisky and draft a backup quarterback
The 2024 season was Mitch Trubisky’s second season with the Bills as Allen’s backup. He spent the 2021 season as Allen’s backup after spending four years with the Chicago Bears. After the 2021 season, Trubisky signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in hopes of becoming a starter int he league again, but that deal fell apart quickly as he struggled with the Steelers.
Trubisky came back to Buffalo last offseason on a two-year deal because he knows the culture of the Bills and is a great locker room guy. However, he costs money and the Bills are in salary cap trouble once again. It’s not as bad as last year, but it isn’t great either.
Buffalo can do one little trick to save some money and not have to pay for a backup quarterback every year or two. According to overthecap.com, the Bills can save $2.5 million by releasing Trubisky.
Obviously if the Bills were to release Trubisky, then the next logical move to make would be to find a quarterback in the later rounds of the draft to develop behind Allen. Buffalo should have drafted current Patriots quarterback Joe Milton out of Tennessee last year. Allen and Milton are very similar in the way they play. They both have strong arms and have athletic ability to throw on the run. Milton would have been the perfect backup to Allen on a super cheap rookie contract.
The Bills can fix that mistake by letting go of Trubisky, saving money to help their salary cap, and drafting a young quarterback who can grow and learn from Allen. If there is a quarterback that has a similar playing style as Allen in the 5th round or later, Beane should strongly consider making the call of bringing in a rookie quarterback that won’t cost the Bills much money over four years.