Trade proposal has Bills sending backup QB to Raiders for future draft capital

NFL teams are working on trimming their rosters down to 53 players by Tuesday's deadline, and the Buffalo Bills have a couple of tough decisions to make.

One decision is at quarterback, where they have three backups who could legitimately be the QB2. Mitchell Trubisky is the favorite for the spot after holding off Mike White. Suddenly, Shane Buechele is in the conversation as well, following a great performance in the finale.

Buffalo is likely to keep Trubisky at No. 2, which means White and Buechele are only on the roster if they go three deep. Rather than simply release one (or both), the Bills could see if a quarterback-needy team is willing to part with a late-round pick. That's what ESPN's Bill Barnwell believes they should do, as he suggested the Las Vegas Raiders could send a sixth-round pick to Buffalo for White.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Mike White throws during the first half against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

"With Josh Allen riding a league-high stretch of 105 consecutive starts into the regular season, the Bills are going as far as he will take them. They brought back Mitch Trubisky to serve as their No. 2 option, so while they could carry White as the No. 3, they might prefer two passers and use that roster spot elsewhere," Barnwell said.

"Without a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft, the Bills would be convinced to go with that two-QB option and let White move to Las Vegas. The Raiders would land a quarterback with a 43.1 Total QBR over his four active NFL seasons, a perfectly reasonable figure for a backup making $1.2 million this season."

Barnwell's prediction doesn't even consider Buechele, but it should. Even if Buffalo wanted to keep three quarterbacks, White is likely on the outside looking in. Using his past performance as a way to get draft capital from Las Vegas would be a brilliant move. Sure, it's not a premium pick, but it's better than nothing -- which is what they would get for releasing White.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Mike White throws the ball against the New York Giants during the second half at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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