The Buffalo Bills are fortunate to have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL with Josh Allen. Since drafting him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Allen has developed into a great player and the front office has not had to worry about finding a starter.
However, this doesn't mean general manager Brandon Beane has not been able to ignore the position. The team has added a backup quarterback each of the past three offseasons.
In 2021, the Bills signed former first round pick Mitchell Trubisky as a free agent followed by trading for Case Keenum with the Cleveland Browns. However, Keenum was playing in the final year of his contract and the Bills would sign Kyle Allen last offseason.
Allen was signed to a one-year deal and will be a free agent this offseason which means the Buffalo Bills will re-visit the position again over the next few weeks.
These are four free agents that the Buffalo Bills could consider signing to backup Josh Allen.
Kyle Allen
The first free agent is the one who was with the team this past season in Kyle Allen. He began his career with the Carolina Panthers and played two seasons there, including 13 starts during that stretch. This was his most playing time in his career and he finished that season with over 3,300 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns but also 16 interceptions.
He would play two seasons with Washington before one season with the Houston Texans in 2022 but start only six games over that stretch. The Bills would sign Allen this offseason and he appeared in seven games but didn't throw a regular season pass and had only 13 rushing kneeldowns.
There are undoubtedly more experienced options to back up Josh Allen but the Buffalo Bills should be able to sign Kyle Allen to a relatively affordable contract. In addition, Allen knows Joe Brady's offense and playbook which should be another positive for the Bills.
P.J. Walker
Another quarterback that has familiarity with offensive coordinator Joe Brady is quarterback P.J. Walker. He was with the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2022 and Brady was his offensive coordinator for the first half of that time.
He signed with the Chicago Bears this past offseason but was released prior to the season after being beaten out by Tyson Bagent for the backup job.
P.J. Walker would sign with the Cleveland Browns and appeared in six games last season while starting two of them. While the familiarity with Brady is a positive, the career starts aren't necessarily great.
In 21 games (nine starts), Walker has averaged only 101.7 passing yards per game with six passing touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He is similar to Kyle Allen as he probably would be a cost-efficient signing but would be risky if he were needed to play extended snaps or games.
Mitchell Trubisky
Another free agent the Buffalo Bills could look to sign is one they signed just a few years ago in Mitchell Trubisky. He joined the team as a "career reset" after an up-and-down start with the Chicago Bears.
He didn't play much during the regular season with only eight pass attempts but looked good during preseason that year. After the season, Trubisky signed a two-year contract with the Steelers in hopes to be their starting QB and then received a two-year extension last offseason.
However, he would lose the job to Kenny Pickett and then be replaced by Mason Rudolph last season. He was recently released by the Steelers and can now sign with any team, including the Bills.
Trubisky might not have familiarity with Joe Brady or this offense but he knows Josh Allen and would be a good fit in the quarterback room.
Sam Darnold
The final player would be the one that probably would command the biggest contract and the Buffalo Bills may not want to dedicate that much to a backup quarterback. However, Sam Darnold is the most talented among these four and would be the best to keep the offense a float in place of Josh Allen.
Darnold was the second quarterback taken in the 2018 NFL Draft after the New York Jets drafted him third overall. However, he didn't have much success with the Jets and has moved around a bit since with two seasons with the Panthers in 2021 and 2022 and this past season with the San Francisco 49ers.
Sam Darnold would seem to be the perfect fit for the Buffalo Bills as he and Josh Allen already know each other well. Both work out together during the offseason and have developed a great relationship off the field.
In addition to that, Darnold knows Joe Brady as they were together in Carolina at the beginning of the 2021 season. This was also probably the best Darnold has looked in the NFL as he over 300 yards passing in three of his first four games that season with five passing touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns and only three interceptions.