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The Buffalo Bills backup quarterback Mitchell Trubiksy is expected to field several offers to become a starter for the 2022 NFL season, and after a year in the shadows, interested teams will need to speak with his teammates and coaches to get a full assessment of his current worth ethic and talent.
ESPN‘s Jeremy Fowler got a headstart on the scouting and spoke to several members from the Bills franchise, including quarterback Josh Allen, to learn their thoughts on 27-year-old former Chicago Bears starter, and what it was like working with him day in and day out.
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During a preseason game against the Bears, Trubisky completed 20 of 28 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown. But throughout the regular season, while Allen remained healthy, Trubisky was used sparingly, completing a total of 6-of-8 passes for 75 yards with one interception, along with 24 rushing yards and touchdown, per NBC Sports.
Fowler wrote that Allen was “eager” to discuss Trubisky, as he “absolutely fell in love with the dude.” The Bills star couldn’t but admire how Trubisky handled going from Chicago’s first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, a Pro Bowl selection in his sophomore year, to eventually getting benched by then-coach Matt Nagy in Year 4.
“Mitch has been through the ringer,” Allen said. “No. 2 pick, how he handled being a professional, coming into a situation where you never thought you’ll be in that situation, that’s not easy. But he handled it with such class.”
“The dude is an athlete,” Allen continued, giving Trubisky an A+ rating. “I don’t think people really understand that. You give him leeway in an offense to have that mindset of, ‘See it, do it, we trust you.’ He’s going to kill it.”
Trubisky Says He’s in a ‘Confident Space Right Now’
The 25-year-old North Carolina alum is spending the offseason in Florida, where he and his wife Hilary are awaiting the birth of their first child. According to Trubisky, taking a pay cut to join the Bills roster as a backup — he signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal last Spring — totally paid off.
After working under Allen, along with coaches Brian Daboll and Ken Dorsey, “I’m in a confident space,” Trubisky told Fowler.
“Going to Buffalo really opened my eyes,” Trubisky continued. “After being in Chicago for four years, there was only one way I knew how to do things. [Being] in Buffalo and [having] a different way of doing things, you learn what’s possible. It helped me get back to instinctual football and using my talents rather than overthinking.”
Bills general manager Brandon Beane believes Trubisky is ready to become a starter, especially after gaining an arsenal of information from Allen. “One thing Josh showed [Trubisky] is it’s OK to freelance a little bit, use your athleticism and instincts,” Beane told Fowler. “I think he will take that with him.”
AFC Exec Says Trubisky Will Have to ‘Earn’ a Starting Spot
GettyMitchell Trubisky #10 of the Buffalo Bills warms up before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on October 31, 2021.
While there are at least 11 teams looking for a new starting quarterback, a few teams stand out as ideal landing spots for Trubisky. Fowler suggests Trubisky would be a fine fit for the Washington Commanders or the Carolina Panthers, other analysts could see him landing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, or the Denver Broncos.
However, Fowler also believes there’s a strong chance Trubisky follows, who’s now head coach the New York Giants, to the Meadowlands.
It was Daboll who convinced Trubisky to take the pay cut and head to Buffalo, and while the coach has strongly endorsed Daniel Jones as the team’s starting quarterback, bringing in Trubisky would off much-needed insurance at the position, and offer Trubisky the chance to compete for the starting role.
One AFC exec told Fowler that he predicts Trubisky will be offered a contract with a team where he will the chance to earn the starting spot.
“I could see him going to a situation where he can be a starting option and the team drafts a quarterback,” an AFC exec said. “He’ll have to go out there and earn it, but there’s certainly enough there where the right offense can accommodate him. The offense in Chicago was pretty rigid and on-script, and I’m not sure it suited him.”
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