Since debuting in 2013, Matt Barkley has just seven starts to his credit. Although he’s largely unproven, Bills head coach Sean McDermott says he’s “very confident” in the quarterback “for a lot of reasons,” as Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle writes.
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Some have wondered whether Barkley is a reliable safety net for Josh Allen, in the event that the Buffalo starter gets injured or contracts COVID-19. Injuries and illnesses aside, there are plenty of question marks about Allen as well. The former first-rounder won ten games for the Bills last year and took them to the playoffs, but his career 56.3% completion rate leaves a lot to be desired.
Barkley, meanwhile, has gone 2-5 in his starts. For his career, he has a 58.8% success rate on throws with ten touchdowns against 21 interceptions. His last start came in 2018, a solid showing and victory over the Jets. Last year, he popped in for two games and lobbed three INTs with zero TDs.
In addition to Barkley, the Bills also have Jake Fromm on hand. The fifth-round pick out of Georgia was once viewed as a high-caliber prospect, but his performance slipped over time and tanked his stock. Fromm completed just 60.8% of his passes in 2019, which doesn’t inspire much confidence either. Davis Webb, the former Giants third-rounder who has never appeared in a game, is also on the offseason roster.
seems kinda silly to anoint him as such so far out. i mean, even a mid-round rookie with little prep time like Fromm should be able to beat out Barkley pretty soon.
Jake Fromm State Farm?
I don’t think that he could play in his khakis. lol
Great comment lol
Well done!
Fromm will follow the Barkley career arc to a T. Better he starts learning from his clone.
I think Fromm is a diamond in the rough, seriously he’s got a decent track record
Yeah he’s Matt Barkley lol
Fromm is a prototypical game manager. He can lead a quality team to victory with smart decisions, but lacks the strength and arm talent to be the difference. He’s an ideal backup candidate, but doesn’t possess the upside required to be a starter in this league. Think Charlie Batch or Chase Daniel
Gotta be a pretty rough diamond if he can’t beat out Matt Barkley.
What ever happened to AJ McCarron ?
Never even got a chance
Houston backup. He had a chance to win the Bills starting job in 2018, but couldn’t even beat out Nathan Peterman. He’s a solid backup, but not a starting-caliber signal caller. His 2015 Cincinnati stats were inflated by surrounding talent
He got injured, not beat. Peterman got called up from the practice squad to play in that Chargers game, long after McCarron got injured during the preseason. McCarron wasn’t brought in to be anything more than a bridge to Allen, but he’s right, he didn’t get much of a chance. Almost got one with the Browns, but they failed to file the paperwork and the trade from Cincy got nixed.
Incorrect. McCarron got traded at the end of the preseason following a misdiagnosis of a hairline fracture and Peterman started opening day against Baltimore (and sucked)
But Peterman’s performances were comedic gold and his legend in futility will live in our hearts forever.
The Bills QB depth chart is rather irrelevant because any success this team has is going to come from their defense. If Barkley isn’t the answer they can always pursue Nathan Peterman who becomes a FA after this season.
Do you ever know what you’re talking about or does your name reflect how you read these articles?
With potentially limited ability to have team workouts why would they say anything different? As a Bills fan, I think Fromm can eventually supplant Barkley, but right now there’s not even an inkling in my mind of why that should happen sooner rather than later. Barkley is basically a QB coach on the sideline for Allen, and Fromm hasn’t even been in an NFL film room yet. I appreciate any coverage on the Bills, but I think this article is just where we’re at in the NFL dry spell.