The Bills drafted Jake Fromm as a developmental project, but if anything were to happen to starting quarterback Josh Allen in the near term, they’d be in the hands of career backup Matt Barkley.
And coach Sean McDermott is apparently fine with that.
“Very confident; I’m very confident in Matt for a lot of reasons,” McDermott said, via Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
He wasn’t specific about those reasons, however, and there’s a reasonable case to be made that there aren’t many. Barkley has been unspectacular for the course of his career. He won a start for the Bills in 2018, but threw three interceptions and no touchdowns in a couple of appearances last year. A late pick ended a chance to come back against the Patriots, and he threw two interceptions when mopping up in the finale against the Jets.
Between that lack of resume, and the only other options being Fromm and Davis Webb, the Bills have what could be perceived as a pretty glaring weak spot.
“Competition is good to have,” McDermott said. “A competition at that position and competition across our roster. And I think Brandon [Beane, the Bills General Manager] and his staff have done a good job of providing that. So, we’ll just see how it plays out.”
Of course, there are quarterbacks available who would be immediate upgrades, but so far the Bills haven’t made any moves in the direction of Cam Newton (who the Bills staff knows well) or Colin Kaepernick or any other outside options. There might come a time when the Bills feel more urgency, but in the middle of June, the Bills are apparently content with the guy already there.