Examining Bills QB Mitch Trubisky's Options

He's happy with the way his 2021 season in Buffalo unfolded, despite limited opportunities.

He took just 33 snaps and attempted only eight passes during the 2021 season, but Mitchell Trubisky this week claimed he was pleased with the way everything turned out after signing last spring to be the backup to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen for one year.

"Going to Buffalo really opened my eyes," Trubisky told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "After being in Chicago for four years, there was only one way I knew how to do things. [Being] in Buffalo and [having] a different way of doing things, you learn what's possible. It helped me get back to instinctual football and using my talents rather than overthinking."

Trubisky is expected to hit unrestricted free agency for a second straight year. He could come back to the Bills, who would love that option but understand he will seek an opportunity to compete for a starting spot, which obviously is not a possibility with their franchise.

Trubisky has some credentials to offer. He's started 52 games, including two in the playoffs, and owns a 29-23 record. He even made the Pro Bowl in his second season while going 11-3 in his 14 starts.

But he failed to hold down his starting job and decided to start fresh with Buffalo last year, knowing he wouldn't have a chance to beat out Allen, who was coming off a season in which he was the runner-up in the NFL MVP voting.

Trubisky insists he didn't even need to play in games to evolve.

"You can't be afraid to make mistakes," he said. "When guys are playing free, you can be at your best. I wanted to learn how they helped Josh, and I saw that firsthand."

The bottom line for Trubisky, he said in the interview, is that he's "in a confident space right now."

The ESPN story quoted an unnamed AFC executive who said: "I could see [Trubisky] going to a situation where he can be a starting option and the team drafts a quarterback. He’ll have to go out there and earn it, but there’s certainly enough there where the right offense can accommodate him. The offense in Chicago was pretty rigid and on-script, and I’m not sure it suited him."

Waiting to see what happens in training camps across the league could be an option for Trubisky as well. Almost every summer, at least one starter is lost to a serious injury, and Trubisky is experienced enough in multiple systems to be able to step in without an extended adjustment period.

Or, if no better option becomes available, he would be welcomed back to the Bills for another year by general manager Brandon Beane.

"He was such a great for us," Beane said in his season-ending press conference last month. "... We've got a spot [for him]."

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.