The Buffalo Bills face a number of difficult decisions this offseason, but selecting a franchise quarterback is not one of them. With Josh Allen under contract for the foreseeable future, the Bills are perennial Super Bowl contenders.
However, the Bills are looking for a new backup quarterback. Kyle Allen is an impending free agent, and despite his strong friendship with Josh Allen, his future is uncertain.
Currently, the Bills are $43.3 million over the $255.4 million cap ceiling. So, paying a large sum for a backup appears implausible. Financially, picking a late-round quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft to fill the backup spot makes sense.
Sal Maiorana, of the Democrat and Chronicle, wrote, “If there is one the Bills might be interested in, it’s Tennessee’s Joe Milton III because he’s almost a clone of Allen, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound elite athlete with a strong arm and great mobility.”
“But it’s highly unlikely that he’d be ready to step in as a rookie if needed, so even if the Bills did pick him, say in the fifth round, [general manager Brandon] Beane would only do so if he already had a veteran backup signed.”
When Beane selected former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, veteran Matt Barkley was already on the roster. Fromm spent the entire season on the practice squad, trailing Barkley, before being released in 2021.
Joe Milton’s ‘arm strength alone separates him from the rest of the QB class’
Brady Quinn, a former NFL quarterback and CBS Sports pundit, feels Milton will turn some heads ahead of the NFL Combine.
“[NFL scouts will] look at it and say, ‘We feel like we can work with this guy, we feel like we can mould this guy into something special,'” Quinn remarked of the 23-year-old prospect, according to SI. “And that’s where I believe Joe Milton can outperform everyone else. Because his arm strength alone will set him apart from the rest of the quarterback class.
Milton began his collegiate career at Michigan then transferred to Tennessee in 2021. During the 2023 season, he completed 229 of 354 passes for 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
After opting out of the Citrus Bowl, he played in the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl, which did not go well. He completed 9 of 13 throws, with two interceptions. According to CBS Sports commentator Ryan Wilson, “Joe Milton, who may have the largest arm at any level of football, looked a lot like he did for Tennessee in 2023. That is, he is sometimes cautious to pull the trigger on his first or second reading, preferring to run the ball at the first hint of difficulty rather than compounding a bad mistake and making it worse.
“It will be intriguing to watch how high Milton is drafted. We’ve spoken with teams who are excited about the potential, and the physical tools are clear. But you wonder how long it will take to pull everything together.”
Milton will hope to change that perception with a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine. CBS Sports expert Chris Trapasso believes that he will chuck the ball 80 yards at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen hasn’t missed a game since November 2018.
Over the last five seasons, the Bills’ backup quarterback has never started. Allen has not missed a game since November 11, 2018. As a result, Buffalo may attempt to re-sign Kyle Allen for the veteran’s minimum, as they did last year. Shane Buechele, the Bills’ third-stringer, signed a reserve/futures deal in January.
Beane, speaking to media at the NFL Combine earlier this week, made it plain that he takes his duty as Josh Allen’s backup seriously. “I understand the value of the quarterback,” Beane stated.
“If you don’t have a guy under centre who can do it, consider what happened to San Francisco in the NFC Championship game a few years back. We’ve been evaluating them for a few years, but in what round are you going to take him such that you’re convinced he’ll be your backup?
“If Josh is out for two to four weeks, at the very least, if you have a decent squad, you will go 2-2. That’s kind of his job; let’s just hold steady till your starter returns. So, in an ideal scenario, you’d want to land that guy, but where do you do that? Do you do this in the second round, or in the fifth round when you’re looking for other players?”
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