Can we talk about a Back Up QB?

[chongli]

For all those saying the season is shot if Josh goes down for an extended period, I beg to differ:

 

In 2017, Nick Foles took over for an injured 11-2 Carson Wentz and led to a SB win over New England and MVP Tom Brady.

 

In 1990, Jeff Hosteler took over for for an injured 11-3 Phil Simms and led them to a SB win over Buffalo.

 

In 2001 Tom Brady took over for an injured 0-2 Drew Bledsoe and took his team to a SB win over St. Louis.

 

In 1992. Frank Reich won two playoff games for Buffalo (one on the road) before ceding the reins back to Jim Kelly for the AFC Championship Game.

Edited Sunday at 07:16 PM by chongli

[chongli]

On 3/6/2025 at 1:24 PM, BuffaloBillyG said:

If (and please football Gods don't let this happen) we were to be without Josh for an extended period of time, I want the best draft pick out of a lost season as possible to grab an Elite WR talent or DL. 

 

Yep, In 2011 Indy lost Peyton Manning for the year and ultimately his career there with a neck injury. They sucked that year, but got the top pick and selected Andrew Luck in the 2012 draft, who guided the team to an 11-5 record.

[BillsFanForever19]

On 3/6/2025 at 4:16 PM, OnTheRocks said:

I think everyone's greatest fear every snap of every game is what happens if something happens to #17!

 

Mitch isn't the answer!  He certainly has the potential to be the guy for a series or two, and maybe for a game or two, even though I think that's highly unlikely! 

My confidence level in Trubisky on a scale of 1-10 is somewhere in the range between 1 and 1.5.  Maybe if we had an absolute stable of studs at WR & TE to go along with Cook, I could entrust Mitch for a game or two, but even then, against any solid competition, I just have serious doubts. He showed zero capabilities in Pittsburgh during his short stint there.  

 

Are there any FA QB's out there that will help ease the anxiety of this organization?  

As it stands right now, If Josh Allen goes down all the Myles Garretts and Joey Bosa's of the world aren't going to help.  

 

Here's the thing - there isn't 32 quality starters in the NFL. Let alone quality backups.

 

And when it comes to the Top Backups, they choose to go to the following situations:

 

- A team that has nothing at QB where they might at least be able to compete for a starting job.

 

- A team that has a Top Pick and will select a Rookie that may not be ready Day 1 and they can be a bridge.

 

- A team with an often injured QB

 

- A team that has an underperforming young starter that could be pulled.

 

- A team that has a weak veteran starter that could be pulled.

 

We check literally none of those boxes. Josh is the MVP and thus far (knock on wood) doesn't miss time. A quality backup looks at this situation and says "I have no chance to see the field".

 

Because of that, we're always going to have to settle for the Mitch Trubisky's, Kyle Allen's, and Case Keenum's of the world.

[nucci]

On 3/6/2025 at 4:18 PM, billsbackto81 said:

Minshew got released. Always thought he'd be a good spot starter/ back up.

he's a terrible QB

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 3/6/2025 at 4:16 PM, OnTheRocks said:

I think everyone's greatest fear every snap of every game is what happens if something happens to #17!

 

Mitch isn't the answer!  He certainly has the potential to be the guy for a series or two, and maybe for a game or two, even though I think that's highly unlikely! 

My confidence level in Trubisky on a scale of 1-10 is somewhere in the range between 1 and 1.5.  Maybe if we had an absolute stable of studs at WR & TE to go along with Cook, I could entrust Mitch for a game or two, but even then, against any solid competition, I just have serious doubts. He showed zero capabilities in Pittsburgh during his short stint there.  

 

Are there any FA QB's out there that will help ease the anxiety of this organization?  

As it stands right now, If Josh Allen goes down all the Myles Garretts and Joey Bosa's of the world aren't going to help.  

Taylor Heinicke is my number 1 choice. I always loved the way he played in Washington. He’s definitely capable of going at least .500 if Allen goes down for 4-6 games which would keep us contenders in a weak AFCE. He’s got the “gamer” factor that QBs like Gardner Minshew & Fitz have. 3500 pass yards 313 rush yards 21 total TDs and 15 picks in his only full year as a starter. 

 

My second choice would be Marcus Mariota. I am a firm believer in backup QBs with explosive speed/scrambling ability. They don’t have the chemistry with pass catchers that the starters do. It’s important to be able to generate yards.  Scrambling ability will help get first downs and buy time for receivers to get open. Mariota is still only 31. 

People are going to hate on this one, but for my third choice I am going with Daniel Jones. The guy has ZERO business ever being a starter, but I believe he has the talent to be one of the better backups in the league. Similar to Josh Allen, the offense won’t have to go through too much change when switching over to Jones. With a 70-47 TD/INT ratio, he wasn’t atrocious. His consistency was terrible though. I think he could pull a few good games out of his *** if called upon. 

Edit: The more I think about it, Daniel Jones would actually be my first choice. I have no idea why I put him third. 

Edited Sunday at 11:05 AM by ChronicAndKnuckles

[Doc Brown]

On 3/6/2025 at 4:37 PM, Captain Hindsight said:

Josh hasn't missed a game since 2018. Backup QB is the most non issue on this team

 

As Bill Polian said once "18 goes down, were *****. We don't practice *****"

I think that was Tom Moore but still a great quote.  As for the backup QB, it will be a competition between Trubisky and White throughout training camp.  We save $2.5m by cutting Trubisky so the hope is White wins.  If Trubisky is clearly the better QB though we keep him.  There's always the chance of a 4 to 6 week injury to Josh where if we just can go .500 we still make the playoffs.

[Spiderweb]

On 3/6/2025 at 4:16 PM, OnTheRocks said:

I think everyone's greatest fear every snap of every game is what happens if something happens to #17!

 

Mitch isn't the answer!  He certainly has the potential to be the guy for a series or two, and maybe for a game or two, even though I think that's highly unlikely! 

My confidence level in Trubisky on a scale of 1-10 is somewhere in the range between 1 and 1.5.  Maybe if we had an absolute stable of studs at WR & TE to go along with Cook, I could entrust Mitch for a game or two, but even then, against any solid competition, I just have serious doubts. He showed zero capabilities in Pittsburgh during his short stint there.  

 

Are there any FA QB's out there that will help ease the anxiety of this organization?  

As it stands right now, If Josh Allen goes down all the Myles Garretts and Joey Bosa's of the world aren't going to help.  

After watching Mitch against the Pats in our 2024 reg season finale, it's clear he just plain stinks.

[Don Otreply]

13 hours ago, chongli said:

For all those saying the season is shot if Josh goes down for an extended period, I beg to differ:

 

In 2017, Nick Foles took over for an injured 11-2 Carson Wentz and led to a SB win over New England and MVP Tom Brady.

 

In 1990, Jeff Hosteler took over for for an injured 11-3 Phil Simms and led them to a SB over Buffalo.

 

In 2001 Tom Brady took over for an injured 0-2 Drew Bledsoe and took his team to a SB win over St. Louis.

 

In 1992. Frank Reich won two playoff games for Buffalo (one on the road) before ceding the reins back to Jim Kelly for the AFC Championship Game.

Exceptions that prove the rule? 

[billsbackto81]

3 hours ago, nucci said:

he's a terrible QB

No he's not. Are you saying Mitch is better?

 

I wouldn't want him as my starter, but imo he's a more than a capable back up.

[Buffalo03]

Just a thought, now keep in mind this for a backup QB. What would everyone think about Justin Fields? I think if God forbid Allen had to miss a game or 2, Fields would be someone you don't have to entirely change the offense for and has had really good moments at times. It's hard for anyone to really say with any certainty that the Bears didn't hinder his development like they do with all of their QBs. I know he got beat out by Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh but again, another team that has been bad offensively for about the last 5 years under Tomlin. I would take a flyer

[Kirby Jackson]

13 hours ago, chongli said:

For all those saying the season is shot if Josh goes down for an extended period, I beg to differ:

 

In 2017, Nick Foles took over for an injured 11-2 Carson Wentz and led to a SB win over New England and MVP Tom Brady.

 

In 1990, Jeff Hosteler took over for for an injured 11-3 Phil Simms and led them to a SB over Buffalo.

 

In 2001 Tom Brady took over for an injured 0-2 Drew Bledsoe and took his team to a SB win over St. Louis.

 

In 1992. Frank Reich won two playoff games for Buffalo (one on the road) before ceding the reins back to Jim Kelly for the AFC Championship Game.

So elite rosters with game managing QBs? That’s not this Bills team. It is Josh and a bunch of guys. That may work for the Eagles but not the Bills. They need to worry about a 4-6 game stretch. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

13 hours ago, chongli said:

For all those saying the season is shot if Josh goes down for an extended period, I beg to differ:

 

In 2017, Nick Foles took over for an injured 11-2 Carson Wentz and led to a SB win over New England and MVP Tom Brady.

 

In 1990, Jeff Hosteler took over for for an injured 11-3 Phil Simms and led them to a SB over Buffalo.

 

In 2001 Tom Brady took over for an injured 0-2 Drew Bledsoe and took his team to a SB win over St. Louis.

 

In 1992. Frank Reich won two playoff games for Buffalo (one on the road) before ceding the reins back to Jim Kelly for the AFC Championship Game.

 

Also recall a year or two prior during the regular season Kelly was out for around 3 weeks, many were predicting we'd go 0-3, Reich won all 3 games!

 

 

7 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

Here's the thing - there isn't 32 quality starters in the NFL. Let alone quality backups.

 

And when it comes to the Top Backups, they choose to go to the following situations:

 

- A team that has nothing at QB where they might at least be able to compete for a starting job.

 

- A team that has a Top Pick and will select a Rookie that may not be ready Day 1 and they can be a bridge.

 

- A team with an often injured QB

 

- A team that has an underperforming young starter that could be pulled.

 

- A team that has a weak veteran starter that could be pulled.

 

We check literally none of those boxes. Josh is the MVP and thus far (knock on wood) doesn't miss time. A quality backup looks at this situation and says "I have no chance to see the field".

 

Because of that, we're always going to have to settle for the Mitch Trubisky's, Kyle Allen's, and Case Keenum's of the world.

 

 

Exactly,  I posted the same thing.  No good potential backup QB has any interest in Buffalo.  The only way Allen comes off the field is either he got hurt or at the end of a blowout. You'll either get a guy like Trubisky or maybe someone who is really at the end of his career and around age 35/36.  The Bills have a better chance at getting Aaron Rodgers to come here than someone younger that still has a shot to prove himself..

 

[nucci]

1 hour ago, billsbackto81 said:

No he's not. Are you saying Mitch is better?

 

I wouldn't want him as my starter, but imo he's a more than a capable back up.

I didn't say anything about Trubisky. I said Minshew is a terrible QB. 

[DrDawkinstein]

I'm torn.

 

If we need a backup to come in and just finish a game, or only start for 1-2 weeks, then I guess I see the need for a decent backup to keep our season alive.

 

That said, I think we can absorb a couple losses and still make the playoffs, and even still win the division (in its current state).

 

If JA17 was ever hit with a season ending injury, then I want the worst QB possible in there to tank the season and get us a top 10 (5) pick so we can load up for Josh's return.

[billsbackto81]

12 minutes ago, nucci said:

I didn't say anything about Trubisky. I said Minshew is a terrible QB. 

My bad.

 

Are you presuming Trubisky is a better option at backup QB than Minshew?

[nucci]

6 minutes ago, billsbackto81 said:

My bad.

 

Are you presuming Trubisky is a better option at backup QB than Minshew?

No, they are both terrible. Unfortunately most backups stink or else they'd be starters

[Jay_Fixit]

Why?

[Shaw66]

2 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

Also recall a year or two prior during the regular season Kelly was out for around 3 weeks, many were predicting we'd go 0-3, Reich won all 3 games!

 

 

 

 

Exactly,  I posted the same thing.  No good potential backup QB has any interest in Buffalo.  The only way Allen comes off the field is either he got hurt or at the end of a blowout. You'll either get a guy like Trubisky someone who is really at the end of his career and around age 35/36.  The Bills have a better chance at getting Aaron Rodgers to come here than someone younger that still has a shot to prove himself..

 

I think if you have a good team, the key is too have a backup who can execute the offense and not make mistakes. He's certainly not going to be as good as your starter, but if you have a good team, the key is to not have your backup giving away games. The rest t of team will be good enough to win some games, so long as the QB isn't dishing out INTs.

 

That means the backup should be a veteran with starting experience. Some of the journeyman backed ups qualify, and the other category of backups are the Flaccos and the Trubiskies, guys who have some hope of resurrecting their careers but who are willing to contribute to a winning team without starting.

 

That's why I like Mitch.

[MJS]

It'll probably be Mike White this year.

 

I try to focus my energy on starters. I don't allow myself to get too worked up about backups. That's just me.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I think if you have a good team, the key is too have a backup who can execute the offense and not make mistakes. He's certainly not going to be as good as your starter, but if you have a good team, the key is to not have your backup giving away games. The rest t of team will be good enough to win some games, so long as the QB isn't dishing out INTs.

 

That means the backup should be a veteran with starting experience. Some of the journeyman backed ups qualify, and the other category of backups are the Flaccos and the Trubiskies, guys who have some hope of resurrecting their careers but who are willing to contribute to a winning team without starting.

 

That's why I like Mitch.

 

They've often had two shots as starter and both times failed so by then they have come to the realization that a backup QB still pays good money and keeps them in the game.