Need a capable backup quarterback next season.

[nucci]

Many teams are looking for a capable starting QB

[Matt_In_NH]

Banged up worse than what the team has reported as neck pain but will be fine?

15 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

Biggest game in multiple decades coming up on Sunday night and we are to discuss next year’s backup QB?  

Maybe regular season game. 

[Kirby Jackson]

16 hours ago, margolbe said:

NFL Network is reporting that Josh is banged up after the last game.  Hopefully he will be good to go on Sunday.

 

But this raises a key issue -- do you want Kyle Allen starting a game?  Given the way Josh plays, its only a matter of time before he gets a injury that has him sitting on the sidelines for a while.

 

We all saw this year that a capable backup can take you pretty far.  We need to be in a better position next year.

The need for a capable backup is 100% correct. If you disagree with this, you’re wrong. This isn’t an “opinion” topic. We saw the value of a quality backup this year. Guys like Minshew, Browning, Rudolph, Keenum and especially Flacco have their teams (or had in Browning’s case) in the middle of the playoff push. You can’t just throw the season away if your QB misses a few weeks. Kyle Allen is not that guy. He just isn’t good enough.

 

I’d be fine taking a guy in the 4th or later to be the long term answer. Maybe that is someone like Rattler, Ward, Travis, Pratt or Hartman. Those are just a few names that could make sense if the value is there. In terms of NFL guys, Brissett is a guy that I like. McCorkle or Zappe would be okay. Zach Wilson anyone? He isn’t my favorite option but has some upside. Tyrod, Huntley, Jameis and Rudolph are all free agents that have had some success. Stick might be as well. Josh Dobbs and Tannehill are the last couple of obvious answers to me. 
 

Anyways, I’d hate going into 2024 with the little margin of error that we have now. Admittedly, I don’t think Kyle Allen is any good. We saw this year what can happen when you give away a few games. We have the 3rd best odds to win the Super Bowl but haven’t even clinched a playoff spot yet. Let’s not give away games moving forward and this protects you if Josh were to miss a month(ish).

16 hours ago, boater said:

We don't know what we have in Kyle Allen. He has yet to throw a pass in a regular game situation. All he has done in his garbage time snaps is hand off to a rusher, or kneel down.

 

I do admit to being concerned of having to play him--my memories of his preseason games are pretty frightening. I bet if he threw in a regular season game that it would be a sphincter tightening experience.

 

 

I mean, he does have 19 regular season starts. Kyle Allen isn’t a complete unknown at all. He just isn’t very good.

Edited January 3 by Kirby Jackson

[Billy Claude]

Trubisky will probably be available for cheap after this season.

[JGMcD2]

2 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

The need for a capable backup is 100% correct. If you disagree with this, you’re wrong. This isn’t an “opinion” topic. We saw the value of a quality backup this year. Guys like Minshew, Browning, Rudolph, Keenum and especially Flacco have their teams (or had in Browning’s case) in the middle of the playoff push. You can’t just throw the season away if your QB misses a few weeks. Kyle Allen is not that guy. He just isn’t good enough.

 

I’d be fine taking a guy in the 4th or later to be the long term answer. Maybe that is someone like Rattler, Ward, Travis, Pratt or Hartman. Those are just a few names that could make sense if the value is there. In terms of NFL guys, Brissett is a guy that I like. McCorkle or Zappe would be okay. Zach Wilson anyone? He isn’t my favorite option but has some upside. Tyrod, Huntley, Jameis and Rudolph are all free agents that have had some success. Stick might be as well. Josh Dobbs and Tannehill are the last couple of obvious answers to me. 
 

Anyways, I’d hate going into 2024 with the little margin of error that we have now. Admittedly, I don’t think Kyle Allen is any good. We saw this year what can happen when you give away a few games. We have the 3rd best odds to win the Super Bowl but haven’t even clinched a playoff spot yet. Let’s not give away games moving forward and this protects you if Josh were to miss a month(ish).

You don’t think Kyle Allen could complete 64% of his passes for 291 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT across two games like Keenum? 
 

If Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky weren’t so incompetent, I think Rudolph would’ve been here next year. Supposedly we liked him a lot coming out in 2018. At this point he probably goes back to Pittsburgh with a chance to start. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

15 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Can we just stop this made up narrative? Literally every other QB in the league has been out the past 2 or 3 years except Allen.

 

Nobody says anything about Lamar and he is injured a lot more and has a very slight frame compared with Allen.

 

Nobody says anything about Hurts and he has missed games in both of the last 2 years.

 

And I don't want to hear any Cam Newton nonsense either. Cams shoulder injury which derailed his career was caused by a car accident not in the field.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/cam-newton-says-2016-shoulder-injury-affected-him-for-years
 

Not according to Cam. His accident with injuries happened in 2014. He was MVP in 2015 so unless there’s something hidden somewhere his shoulder injury was not from a car accident. 
 

Josh may not have missed any games but his throwing shoulder and arm have been hurt the last two years causing issues. 

Edited January 3 by Not at the table Karlos

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

5 minutes ago, Not at the table Karlos said:

 

Not according to Cam. His accident with injuries happened in 2014. He was MVP in 2015 so unless there’s something hidden somewhere his shoulder injury was not from a car accident. 
 

 

Jet ski? 🤔
*
And he wasn't even driving!

Edited January 3 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[Kirby Jackson]

36 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

You don’t think Kyle Allen could complete 64% of his passes for 291 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT across two games like Keenum? 
 

If Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky weren’t so incompetent, I think Rudolph would’ve been here next year. Supposedly we liked him a lot coming out in 2018. At this point he probably goes back to Pittsburgh with a chance to start. 

Keenum won enough to keep them in the mix. He isn’t great either but if his team wins this week they are in. I’m not a Rudolph fan but can’t deny that he has played pretty well. Kyle Allen is a bottom 5-10 backup imo.
 

I am open to a ton of options and maybe even 2. If you signed someone like Brissett and drafted a guy like Pratt for the PS I’d be good with that (assuming he’d get to the PS which is likely). If Josh is out for a while it is a problem either way. I just hope it isn’t a “season over” type of trouble.

[Aussie Joe]

Im all for having a better back up QB … who wouldn’t be .,,

But when you are paying Allen, Diggs and Miller then I guess you have to get by with cheaper options elsewhere in some other positions ..

Brissett got paid $8m this season and Kyle Allen $1.2m

 

You get what you pay for … and Beane has elected to get by as cheap as he can at the backup QB for a number of years …

 

Jake Fromm was their last draft pick they tried to stash on PS… he got poached eventually,,,

 

[MrEpsYtown]

Premium backups like Brissett make 8 million a year. Heinecke makes 7 million. The next tier of backups is in the 4-6 million range, and then you have the Kyle Allen group who make a 1-1.5 million per. Paying a backup 8 million when you have a starting QB on an expensive long-term contract is just irresponsible and unrealistic. In a cap world that money needs to be used elsewhere. The only teams with an expensive QB1 and expensive QB2 are teams that have top-ten picks as backups on a rookie contract like the Jets and Cowboys. I am not sure I want to spend a pick before the 6-7 range either. UDFA is the way to go though. 

 

I get it, if Josh gets hurt we are screwed, but that would be true with any backup really. That said, maybe a Trubisky or a Sam Darnold might make some sense in that 4 million dollar-a-year range. But that money could be the difference in having to cut or retain a guy more important to the team. 

[BearNorth]

18 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

But that money could be the difference in having to cut or retain a guy more important to the team. 

We keep a backup for our center/guards - He's played 35 snaps - we've paid him $11MM the past two seasons.

[Big Turk]

10 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Ironically, it was likely the 0-4 start the Bengals had that cost them this year.

 

They kept pushing an obviously ineffective Burrow out there because they didn't believe Browning could do it. They're 4-2 in Browning's starts. 

 

Maybe they were right at the beginning of the year. A lot changes during a season. Players who aren't ready at the start may be OK a few months in.

[PromoTheRobot]

See if the Chargers will trade Easton Stick.

[MrEpsYtown]

44 minutes ago, BearNorth said:

We keep a backup for our center/guards - He's played 35 snaps - we've paid him $11MM the past two seasons.

 

It's apples to oranges.

 

He is making 4.25 dollars APY. That is slightly higher than your typical backup center, but he also has the versatility to play guard and maybe some tackle. He was also an offer sheet that was matched, so Buffalo probably had to go a little higher than they wanted to retain him. Additionally, Bates started 15 games last year and his salary is quite low for a staring guard/center. Also, we have been lucky. O-Linemen get hurt a lot, and ours has been okay thus far, knock on wood. Our starting center does have some issues with injuries in the past. Finally, having Bates at a slightly higher salary is okay with me because you have a rookie starting at RG making nothing. Again teams with a QB on a rookie contract can afford a more expensive backup. When your QB makes 43 million a year it's tough to sign a backup for 7-8 million dollars and it doesn't make fiscal sense. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

12 hours ago, mrags said:

Aiden O’Connell, Bailey Zappe, Tyler Huntley, all say hi. 

 

Those three names prove my earlier point.  In the case of Zappe and O'Connell those teams didn't have established starting QB's so risk in taking a flier on a low drafted rookie isn't bad as for all the team knows he could be better than the week 1 starter (see Tom Brady) 

 

Huntley is on a team with an established starter, but back in 2020 when he was a rookie, he was 3rd string.  So Baltimore paid the salary for a #2 backup, Robert Griffin  plus Huntley possibility used up an additional roster spot on him as not certain if he was active all year as the #3 QB or just made active roster as #2 when Jackson was out and rest of year was on PS.  They also carried 3 QB's in 2021 too with a 12 year vet in Josh Johnson on the team.  Only starting in 2022, did Huntley become the #2 QB as a 3rd year player.  Prior he was 3rd string.

 

So yes those three names all are good examples of exactly what was my point.

[mrags]

37 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

Those three names prove my earlier point.  In the case of Zappe and O'Connell those teams didn't have established starting QB's so risk in taking a flier on a low drafted rookie isn't bad as for all the team knows he could be better than the week 1 starter (see Tom Brady) 

 

Huntley is on a team with an established starter, but back in 2020 when he was a rookie, he was 3rd string.  So Baltimore paid the salary for a #2 backup, Robert Griffin  plus Huntley possibility used up an additional roster spot on him as not certain if he was active all year as the #3 QB or just made active roster as #2 when Jackson was out and rest of year was on PS.  They also carried 3 QB's in 2021 too with a 12 year vet in Josh Johnson on the team.  Only starting in 2022, did Huntley become the #2 QB as a 3rd year player.  Prior he was 3rd string.

 

So yes those three names all are good examples of exactly what was my point.

So one guy made it to being a backup only after 3 years and that proves your point? 
 

what about Purdy. What about O’Connell. Guys that were drafted as backups. We’re not expected to start in any way shape or form and somehow are killing it and became starters. 
 

doesn’t matter the point is, at this point in time, none of those guys are making any real money. They are on rookie contracts and are late round picks or undrafted free agents. Those teams didn’t fork over multiple millions a year for backups. Even if most of them have the cap space for or. Fact is, we don’t have the cap space for it. I feel Having a multi million dollar QB at backups about the same as I do wasting money on guys that only play special teams. Unless you have the cap space and every other position is set, it’s a waste of a roster spot. Again, if Allen goes down for anything other than 4ish games or less, we’re screwed anyway. 

[FilthyBeast]

They'll be a lot of options out there.

 

Would take a hard look at Jimmy G once the Raiders dump him especially given his success in San Fran running a structured passing game/run heavy offense which seems like the Bills are trying so hard to be this year.

[boater]

1 minute ago, FilthyBeast said:

They'll be a lot of options out there.

 

Would take a hard look at Jimmy G once the Raiders dump him especially given his success in San Fran running a structured passing game/run heavy offense which seems like the Bills are trying so hard to be this year.

He will be too expensive.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, mrags said:

So one guy made it to being a backup only after 3 years and that proves your point? 
 

what about Purdy. What about O’Connell. Guys that were drafted as backups. We’re not expected to start in any way shape or form and somehow are killing it and became starters. 
 

doesn’t matter the point is, at this point in time, none of those guys are making any real money. They are on rookie contracts and are late round picks or undrafted free agents. Those teams didn’t fork over multiple millions a year for backups. Even if most of them have the cap space for or. Fact is, we don’t have the cap space for it. I feel Having a multi million dollar QB at backups about the same as I do wasting money on guys that only play special teams. Unless you have the cap space and every other position is set, it’s a waste of a roster spot. Again, if Allen goes down for anything other than 4ish games or less, we’re screwed anyway. 

 

The part in bold I agree with, but that's why I want someone as a backup that has a decent chance of winning a couple of games at least against the weaker teams.  Yes Purdy, O'Connell became starters because there was no true established starting QB on the team. The QB the team signed to become the #1 for the upcoming season was benched so the backup took over.  In that case sure why not take a chance on an unproven backup as you're likely not going deep into playoffs to begin with and the guy your signed as your #1 had some questions to begin with.

 

That is my point, when a team does not proven starter, it's ok to have an unproven rookie backup. And the names you mention all fit that role on their respective teams with the exception of Huntley, but his first two years he was the #3 guy.

[uninja]

21 hours ago, Simon said:

I'm curious as to what it is that people don't like about Kyle Allen?

 

He's started 16 NFL games, approximately one full season.

In that "season" he's thrown for about 4,000 yards with a completion percentage over 62%.

He's thrown 26 TDs to 21 INTs (with a small handful of rushing TDs)

That puts his career QB rating at 82.2, which is not bad and even seems fairly competent when you consider his starts have come for some very bad football teams. 

 

Could the Bills really get a lot better there and is it worth committing limited resources to try?

 

 

For real this is an answer in search of a question, KA isn't going to be anyone's franchise QB but out of the ones available to be JA's backup you can do a HECK of a lot worse than Kyle Allen.