Buffalo Bills Player Spotlight: How Ready is Mitchell Trubisky to Lead This Team?

The former first-round draft pick might have to step in for franchise QB Josh Allen, who has turf toe.

One of the least-discussed roster moves Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane made in the 2021 offseason was the significant upgrade he made at backup quarterback, signing former Chicago Bears starter Mitchell Trubisky for the bargain-basement price of $2.5 million to replace the outgoing Matt Barkley.

It could turn out to be the most significant if starter Josh Allen, who received a slightly higher contract from the Bills not long after that, is unable to answer the bell for this coming Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers.

Allen has turf toe after being dragged down from behind by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Devin White with a legal tackle that sometimes features the same leg-damaging effect on the ballcarrier as horse-collar takedowns, which were outlawed by the NFL more than a decade ago following the broken leg Terrell Owens suffered at the hands of Roy Williams in the 2004 season.

Here’s the play Josh Allen was injured on.

Currently in a walking boot on the L side.

Hard to see what happens to the ankle at the very end, possible eversion. Did see report that they taped up the big toe, mechanism possible for turf toe.

Hope for low ankle sprain. #Bills pic.twitter.com/YE2ATd44zg

— Banged Up Bills (@BangedUpBills) December 13, 2021

In Trubisky, the Bills acquired the No. 2 pick overall of the 2017 NFL Draft who brought with him a lifetime winning record of 29-21 record as a starter.

Though obviously not as gifted as Allen, Trubisky at least statistically is similar to Allen in a few career categories: Completion percentage (64.1 for Trubisky, 62.9 for Allen), interception percentage (2.4 for Trubisky, 2.3 for Allen) and Pro-Bowl selections (one apiece).

Trubisky in 2018 even ran for 421 yards. His career average of 5.4 yards per carry is identical to that of Allen's.

So while the Bills may have a portion of the playbook closed to Trubisky, it may be more open than many think.

"He had a really good preseason," coach Sean McDermott said. "He's continued to progress through the year. Very, very appreciative of his team-first approach for a guy that hasn't typically been in that role prior to coming here. That takes a lot of character. He has shown that every week, and I'm really proud of him for it.

"He'll be ready to go if and when his number is called."

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll declined to speculate on what life may be like without Allen for even one full game.

"I'm not going to get into hypotheticals here," he said. "I appreciate the question. We'll see how it goes this week with Josh. Mitch will do what he always does each week — you're one play away as a backup quarterback — to get ready to go.

"But we all know how I feel about Josh and what he means to our football team and specifically to our offense."

Trubisky this season has been limited to mop-up duty in five games, going 5-for-7 for 28 yards and an interception.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.