The NFL Draft scouting combine is underway, and each team has officially begun the process of shaping its 2026 roster. For the Buffalo Bills, there are several areas that require addressing in the offseason. In this series, we will take a look at each position group: the known entities, the pending free agents, and who we would love to see added.
With salary cap issues to face and limitations in terms of blockbuster trades, this is a more realistic path for what the Bills may potentially do during the offseason. To get us going, we will take a look at the most important position in the NFL: quarterback.
The Buffalo Bills 2026 offseason playbook for the quarterback position
The known quantities
The most important player for the Buffalo Bills is obviously Josh Allen. The former MVP was tasked with carrying the team on his back in 2025 and mostly did so. He is, without a doubt, one of the three best quarterbacks in the world, depending on the week.
Allen has been a workhorse since coming to Buffalo, and that doesn’t stand to change unless something catastrophic happens. The Bills have a franchise quarterback whom they can depend on in any situation, a commodity that is rare in the NFL.
Behind him is recent free agent signee Shane Buechele. A veteran undrafted free agent, Buechele spent 2025 with the Kansas City Chiefs, though he was with the Bills from 2023-2025. He is a known quantity in the room, but not realistically someone you want in for more than a game at a time.
Free Agents who could come back
The one in-house commodity to consider is veteran quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. After a two-year detour in Pittsburgh, Trubisky returned to the Bills for 2024 and 2025. He is fine as a backup quarterback, probably better than most of the other backups, but he will never live up to his lofty draft status.
Given the salary cap limitations the Bills face, they may not be in a position to pay Trubisky $3 million+ just to be Allen’s friend. If he is open to taking a pay cut under his $2 million 2024 base salary, then by all means, bring him back into the fold. Having someone familiar with Brady’s offense who is good in the room can’t be quantified.
Preferred additions
Given the situation with the cap, it feels like the best-case scenario will be to draft a project at the position in one of the final two rounds. Someone like Penn State’s Drew Allar or Clemson’s Cade Klubnik would be ideal, as they have experience leading major programs, plus ample physical skills.
Ideally, a late pick would sit at third on the depth chart, learn from Allen, and give the Bills a valuable trade chip 2-3 years down the line. Allen is the franchise for a bare minimum of the next 5-6 years, so they don’t need to find the next guy just yet.
Bills Quarterback Outlook for 2026
Allen is the MVP contender that the Bills will continue to lean on. Backup is important, but the cold reality is that things are in a very bad place if anyone but Allen is taking a large portion of the snaps.
If he is willing to take the pay cut, Trubisky would be ideal for his camaraderie with Allen and familiarity with Brady’s system. If he is unwilling to take that pay cut, drafting someone late and letting them learn from a future Hall of Famer is far from the worst situation.
On the whole, this is easily the strongest position for the Bills, and the one with the least uncertainty. They have the luxury of choosing anyone they see fit as the backup and knowing that they realistically won’t have to rely on them in any capacity.