Chris Landers of FanSided.com has put the Buffalo Bills back into the backup-quarterback conversation by proposing a trade for Kenny Pickett. In the idea, Buffalo would send a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Carolina Panthers, a small price for a move aimed squarely at the spot behind Josh Allen.
That is why the search is happening now. The Bills have had stability at the top of the depth chart for years, but the job behind Josh Allen has kept changing hands. Matt Barkley, Mitch Trubisky, Kyle Allen and Case Keenum have all filled that role since 2018, and the latest proposal asks whether Buffalo should keep turning over that chair again.
Landers’ logic is simple enough to follow. He wrote that Pickett’s stock could hardly be lower, and that is the kind of statement that turns a modest draft pick into a real conversation. A 2027 seventh-rounder is the sort of asset teams can part with without disturbing their long-term plans, especially when Buffalo already has two of those picks from its Day 3 trade with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The comparison also puts Kyle Allen under a sharper light. He is the current backup for Josh Allen, but that does not mean the Bills should be done looking. The club has already used two stints each from Mitch Trubisky and Kyle Allen, which says as much about the search for a reliable No. 2 as it does about either player’s staying power. Kyle Allen last started full-time in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers, when he played 13 games and threw for 3,322 yards with 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
That history matters because Buffalo’s starter has not been the problem. Josh Allen gave the Bills the stability they spent years chasing after Jim Kelly, and the debate now is narrower and more practical: whether the team is comfortable continuing with Kyle Allen or wants stronger competition in the room. Pickett would not change the starting job, but a trade like this would signal that Buffalo is not satisfied with simply having a backup in place.
For now, the move is only a proposal, not a decision. But it puts Buffalo in a familiar spot, weighing whether the easiest answer behind Josh Allen is good enough or whether the Bills should spend a late pick to make the job open again.
