A familiar face returns to back up Josh Allen
The Buffalo Bills have one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. That means we no longer have to worry about who will man the most important position in football, but we instead are able to discuss who will hold the clipboard while they watch one of the league’s best do his thing.
We’ve also been fortunate enough as Bills fans that there hasn’t been a reason in quite some time for someone other than Josh Allen to start a game at quarterback for the Bills. In fact, the last time someone else started a game for Buffalo was on November 11, 2018, when Matt Barkley started and helped to eviscerate the New York Jets in a 41-10 drubbing in New Jersey.
Hopefully, that streak continues this year and the only time the Bills remove their starting quarterback is when they’re comfortably ahead in the fourth quarter. Either way, the man we’re going to discuss in today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days” is the man tasked with backing up Josh Allen.
Mitch Trubisky
- Number: 11
- Position: QB
- Height/Weight: 6’3”, 222 pounds
- Age: 29 (30 on 8/20/2024)
- Experience/Draft: 8; selected in the first round (No. 2 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft
- College: North Carolina
- Acquired: Signed with Bills on 3/7/2024
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Trubisky signed a two-year contract with Buffalo, a pact worth $5.25 million overall. Of that total, $2.71 million is guaranteed. Trubisky carries a cap hit of $2 million for the year if he makes the roster. The entirety of his 2024 base salary ($1.21 million) is guaranteed. The Bills will carry a dead-cap charge of $1.5 million if he’s traded or released. That total equals his entire signing bonus.
2023 Recap: Trubisky signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 2022 NFL season, and while he wasn’t the starter in 2023, he did appear in five games for Pittsburgh. He was pressed into action as a starter twice, as well. In all five of Trubisky’s appearances, the Steelers lost. Trubisky completed 67-of-107 passes (62.6%) for 632 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. He rushed 16 times for 54 yards and two scores. After the Steelers lost his two starts in Week 14 and Week 15, he was benched for Mason Rudolph, who led the team to three straight wins to close the season. Trubisky was inactive for Pittsburgh’s final two games — a win over the Baltimore Ravens to clinch a playoff spot, and then a loss the following week against Buffalo in the Wild Card Round.
Positional outlook: Trubisky is one of three quarterbacks on the current roster. Josh Allen and Shane Buechele are the others.
2024 Offseason: Trubisky is healthy and participated in offseason workouts.
2024 Season outlook: Ideally, Trubisky is like those extended-warranty packages dealers push when you buy a new car: Sure, he’s expensive, but hopefully you never have to use him... and in the event that you do, then at least you can say you invested in the coverage to keep yourself afloat for a little while.
Trubisky isn’t going to win the Bills a championship, and based on his poor performance in Pittsburgh, it’s possible that he won’t win them many games at all, either. The Bills are banking on his physical ability combined with his comfort level with the coaching staff leading to a solid second stint in Buffalo.
Joe Brady, Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, was the quarterbacks coach when Trubisky was here last, so the two are acquainted with one another. Here’s hoping that Trubisky’s only action comes when executing some handoffs and taking a few kneel-downs at the end of blowout wins.