By Lawrence Lang
DETROIT- With Hall of Fame weekend behind us, we now move to preseason football. Now, as we know, preseason football can be a waste of time. Why do we need four weeks of watching this? Well, it’s simple we need the preseason to figure out a few things: who the starters will be even though most teams have their starter set, backups, and third strings players also there could be, and god forbid it happens an injury that shakes up the starting line. In the case of the Buffalo Bills, there is a significant question: who will back- up Josh Allen?
Allen is the man in Buffalo now after getting a new deal with a six-year contract worth $258 million with a $150 million guarantee. Three quarterbacks are fighting for the position in preseason game one is a good start to that decision in the backup conversation. The Bills have three other quarterbacks in their depth chart with Mitchell Trubisky, Jake Fromm, and Davis Webb.
The Chicago Bears drafted Trubisky as the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 draft. The Bears would trade up for him, giving the San Francisco 49ers two third-round picks. In Trubisky’s four years with the bears, he would bring the Bears their first Division title in eight years when they won the North in 2018 after beating division rival Green Bay Packers 24-17. In 2020 we would see a battle for the Starting QB position with him and Nick Foles. He would start the first two weeks, then was benched in week three against the Atlanta Falcons. He wouldn’t be the starter again till week 12 against the Packers. The bears that season would make the playoffs and, in the Wild card Round, would lose to the New Orleans Saints 21-9. Trubisky finished his tenure in Chicago with a 29-21 record, 64 Tds 37 Ints, and 87.2 Passer Rating. Trubisky is out to prove that even though he might not be the starter in Buffalo, he can be the number 2 and be ready to go if Allen were to go down. Looking at Trubisky, I feel he’s out for redemption after the fallout with the Bears. If he can prove in the preseason that he can be that number #2 in Buffalo, I wouldn’t be upset because it shows that he’s not giving up on trying to be a Qb in the NFL, and if it doesn’t work out for him in Buffalo maybe it will make a case for a team to pick him up.
Next, we turn to Jake Fromm. The 23-year-old 167th 5th round pick in the 2020 NFL draft comes from Georgia, where he made them the N0.1 college team and took the Bulldogs to the 2017 SEC Championship, where they beat Auburn. In the Rose Bowl against Oklahoma, he would lead them to a 54-48 victory to earn them a spot in the College Football National Championship, where they would lose 23-26. Fromm would throw for 232 yards, two interceptions, one touchdown, and going 16 of 32. In his time at Georgia, he finished with a career of 78 Tds 18 Ints and a QBR of 157.5. Fromm signed a four-year, $3.771 million contract, including a $302,960 signing bonus, with the Bills on May 7, 2020. Fromm seems to be for the long run with the contract offer from 2020, but with Trubsiky here now. There might be a case where he might be dropped to third-string if Trubisky thrives in the preseason. Trubsiky might light a fire under Fromm to go all out and show his talent and show Trubisky that he will be the one behind Allen.
Lastly, Davis Webb, the 26-year-old 87th 3rd round pick in 2017, has played hot potato with teams. He was drafted by the New York Giants but was later waived in 2018 by the Giants on September 2, 2018. He was then picked up by the New York Jets just two days later in 2019. He was part of last-minute roster cuts and was cut on August 31, 2019. Once again, two days later, he was signed to the Bills practice squad. On January 26, 2021, Webb signed a reserves/futures contract with the Bills. In his college days at Texas Tech from 2013 to 2015 and a transfer to California in 2016 fished with 9,852 passing yards, 83 TDs, and 34 Ints. Webb is a dark horse because of the bouncing around teams and not being given a chance to showcase himself. But that time might be now as the battle of the backup begins. While there might be a battle between Trubisky and Fromm, he has a chance maybe to go off the grid and sneak his way into the backup position. If anything, he might see himself off the practice squad and at third string. If he has a great preseason and is cut from the Bills, he might have a case for another team like Trubisky.
With Wins and losses not mattering, I’m more interested in the backup QB conversation because this can be something to look out for since all three QBs have a case to be that guy behind Allen and be ready just in case. If anything, I see the Bills winning 21-10.
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