Just one snap away, right?
Heading into the offseason, that’s how things were for Bills quarterback Matt Barkley. Now he’s going to have to earn that honor behind Josh Allen.
The Bills drafted Georgia QB Jake Fromm in the fifth-round of the recent NFL Draft. Perhaps CBS Sports has shed some more light as to why.
In their recent rankings of backup quarterbacks in the NFL, Barkley landed near the bottom at No. 26 overall:
My favorite Matt Barkley fun fact is that he once wore a wetsuit under his uniform as a member of the Bears to stave off the cold. He actually played halfway decent football in that game too considering his lack of experience as an NFL starting quarterback and the fact that he was wearing a wetsuit under his uniform during a real live NFL game. Unfortunately, I don’t have many more great things to say about Barkley as an NFL quarterback. There’s a reason he’s a backup; he carries a career 65.7 passer rating. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see rookie Jake Fromm usurp him at some point during the upcoming season. In fact, I flirted with the idea of ranking Fromm here instead of Barkley.
Barkley vs. Fromm is going to be a training camp storyline to watch, for sure. When camp is over, we’ll have a more clear picture on which one earned it. But having said that, would the Bills keep three quarterbacks? Under head coach Sean McDermott, he’s had a liking for only keeping two with a third on the practice squad, which could be Davis Webb. If Fromm wins, Barkley is certainly a salary cap cut candidate. Barkley, once viewed as the “veteran” backup, is also not really that. Allen is the veteran, with 27 career starts to Barkley’s seven.
In terms of the rest of the league, the Saints’ Jameis Winston is pegged as the league’s best backup, who edges out the Cowboys’ Andy Dalton. At three is Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa. But he could be the starter by Week 1.
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