Once again this offseason, I'll be examining the state of each Buffalo Bills position as the team and players look towards free agency and the NFL Draft.
I'll start things off with a look at the quarterbacks:
Under contract:
• Josh Allen
• Jake Fromm
• Davis Webb
Pending Free Agents:
• Matt Barkley
State of the position:
The biggest question at the quarterback position facing the Bills this offseason is whether or not to pay Josh Allen now, or wait another year.
Allen is going into the final year of his rookie deal, but the team has the right to exercise their fifth-year option for 2022, and most certainly will if an extension isn’t in place before the May 3 deadline.
Even with the salary cap constraints created by the revenue shortfall of the COVID-19 pandemic, general manager Brandon Beane said last week on WGR that he believes there will be room to get an Allen extension done this offseason. If that doesn't happen, they’ll save money on the cap in 2021, but it will also get more-and-more expensive to do it the longer they wait.
Judging by his comments, Beane will most likely get it done this offseason, but try to soften the blow of how much money will count against the salary cap over the first couple of years, especially in 2021, in order to maintain some financial flexibility around the roster. Either way, there’s no disputing Allen is the team’s clear No. 1 quarterback going forward, and hopefully for a long, long time.
Barkley has been the consummate professional as a backup the past two-plus seasons. He’s been exactly what the Bills wanted from that position - an experienced veteran who can be in the room with Allen every day, knowing his role, but preparing just in case he has to play. He’s also gotten the Bills through one almost-full, and one half of the last two Week 17 contests while the team rested Allen for the playoffs.
But the reality is also that Barkly has completed less than 55% of his passes, with three touchdowns and four interceptions in his seven games played in a Bills uniform.
The team re-signed Davis Webb to a reserve/futures deal and still have Jake Fromm under contract. Depending where the country and league are this summer as far as the pandemic, the Bills may want four quarterbacks under contract again, as they did this season. Barkley would be a natural fit in that scenario, but he’s certainly replaceable if they find someone else they like.
Webb is considered a terrific leader and even a coach off the field. He was widely-credited for organizing and running the workouts in Florida last summer when a big group of the skill-position players got together while unable to train in Buffalo.
Davis spent this season on the practice squad, then signed a reserve/futures contract, presumably for one year at the league minimum. So he’s cheap and serves a purpose on the roster other than just on the playing field.
He’s also never taken a snap in an actual NFL game, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be on the training camp roster fighting for Allen’s backup position against Fromm, with or without Barkley or another player in the mix.
The Bills invested a fifth round pick on Fromm in last year‘s draft. He made the team out of training camp, but only served as the emergency COVID-19 quarterback all season, never actually practicing with the team. So not only has he not thrown a pass in a real NFL game yet, he actually hasn’t done it in a real regular season practice, either.
Given all of that, it’s hard to say what the Bills feel about Fromm, other than the fact that he accepted his role and presumably did it exactly as they wanted all season. Like Webb, there’s no reason to believe Fromm won’t be on the training camp roster. From there, a lot may depend on what the season looks like as far as COVID-19 protocols once again.
If the Bills do only bring Allen, Fromm, and Webb to training camp, that would mean they have exactly zero NFL game experience, not even one snap, at the backup quarterback position. That’s not an ideal situation most teams want to be in.
That’s why Barkley, or another veteran like him, is still very much an option to sign (or re-sign in Barkley’s case), joining Allen, Fromm, and Webb.
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