Three-Man QB Competition Headlines Bills Camp

Uncertainty surrounds the Buffalo Bills offense heading into training camp. Not only is star running back LeSean McCoy being investigated for assault charges, but the Bills have not two, but three quarterbacks competing for the starting job.

After making the playoffs in the 2017-2018 season, Buffalo traded starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns. They then signed former Bengals QB A.J. McCarron to a two-year deal, and drafted Wyoming’s Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick, while hanging on to Taylor’s backup, Nathan Peterman. It is clear that the Bills want to change to a pocket-passer, but the question remains as to which of the three quarterbacks will take the reigns Week 1 for Buffalo.

Nathan Peterman was the one to take many of the first-team reps for Buffalo in OTAs, and many said that he impressed and is able to win the job even after his rocky 2017-2018 season including his five-interception performance (all in the first half) in week 11 versus San Diego. Despite his struggles last season, the Pitt product has excellent vision and has been said to have great accuracy down the field.

The most experienced of the three candidates is 27-year-old A.J. McCarron, and this isn’t saying much. McCarron only played in a handful of games in his four years with the Bengals, yet he did start in a playoff loss to Pittsburg in the 2015-2016 season. McCarron was a standout at Alabama, winning three national champions (two as a starter) in his four years there. McCarron knows what it’s like to win and hopes that his winning mentality can earn him the starting spot in Buffalo.

All eyes will be on rookie Josh Allen during training camp. The Bills officially signed Allen to a four-year rookie contract on Wednesday as they expect him to be the franchise quarterback that they have sought after for years. Allen is 22-years-old and sports a 6’6”, 237-pound frame, a prototype for a pocket passer. While Allen’s passing percentage at Wyoming wasn’t great, he has a rocket launcher for an arm and is not afraid to unload the deep ball. Teams in the past couple years have been hesitant to start rookie QBs in Week 1 (i.e. Trubisky, Mahomes, and Watson not starting week 1 last year for their respective teams) but if Peterman or McCarron fail to win immediately, expect the fans to get anxious and Allen’s number to be called upon.