Bills OC Joe Brady reflects on unique injury-impacted QB situation

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady spoke to the media about the team's quarterback situation on Tuesday.

Anthony Miller | Aug 20, 2024

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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Injuries have plagued the Buffalo Bills quarterback room as they enter their third and final preseason game of the 2024 campaign, as the two signal-callers who figure to take all of the reps this weekend weren't even on the roster at the start of the month.

Third-string quarterback Shane Buechele suffered a neck injury in Buffalo’s preseason opener, which prompted the Bills to sign Ben DiNucci in the subsequent week. DiNucci made his debut in the team’s preseason Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, taking reps at quarterback alongside Mitchell Trubisky, who himself suffered a knee injury in the contest. The veteran is set to miss the next several weeks, which prompted Buffalo to sign third-year signal-caller Anthony Brown on Tuesday.

This leaves the team with two quarterbacks who haven't even had lockers at One Bills Drive for two weeks as they prepare to play their preseason finale. Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady spent time with the media Tuesday morning and spoke about the unique quarterback situation, evaluating DiNucci’s performance and touching on how the team plans to get Brown up to speed.

“Last week, Ben DiNucci did an incredible job,” Brady said. “He felt confident going in there if we had to throw the football that he would have been fine. Anthony [Brown] will obviously do the same thing this week. We’ll have our guys ready to go and I’ll make sure that if it is one play they feel confident in or if it is ten, I’ll make sure to give them the best opportunity to put their best football out there. We got a couple of days to figure that out.”

DiNucci completed three of five passes for 20 yards in Buffalo’s 9-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers; he didn't look stellar, but few expected a former FCS quarterback with a few days of scheme experience to be a world-beater.

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Aug 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (11) is attended to on the sidelines after suffering an apparent injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Buffalo won 9-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

DiNucci is now joined in the quarterback room by Brown, a former Boston College and Oregon signal-caller with two games worth of professional experience under his belt. Josh Allen is not expected to play this weekend, so it will be DiNucci and Brown taking the snaps under center against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

For Brady and his coaching staff, it’s all about getting the offense ready and making sure the quarterbacks are prepared mentally.

“It’s just finding ways to get these guys ready to play and getting them ready to play for ‘hey this practice,’" Brady said. "You’re kind of balancing a bunch of different things. The two guys that we brought in, I think they have the right mindsets, the right approach. They understand ‘Hey what is important?’ and ‘Hey let’s focus on today’s practice. Let’s get these plays in. Hey, tonight let’s crank out a little more of, hey these are the things that are going to be in the week for you. What are you comfortable with?,’ and kind of do that on week to week. We got to get the team ready to go but we need them to play good football at the end of this week.”

Expect the running backs to be a focal point for the offense as the coaching staff figures out how to get the two new quarterbacks on the same page with the offense. As long as Allen stays healthy, this is a problem that can be covered up temporarily until Trubisky recovers.

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