The Buffalo Bills named Matt Barkley their starting quarterback for Sunday’s match against the New York Jets, pitting the journeyman against another backup, Josh McCown. The battle is sure to be an unforgettable event for the ages.
Speculation that Barkley could start this game began to fire up on Friday, as it was reported that Barkley, Nate Peterman, and Josh Allen had been taking equivalent reps through practice. Allen, finishing his recovery from a UCL sprain, threw a normal workload in practice, but has been ruled out for Sunday’s game. With a bye week next, Allen should return to the field in Buffalo’s next game. Veteran Derek Anderson was already ruled out for this week, still in concussion protocol.
In the end, Buffalo coach Sean McDermott could not justify starting Peterman any longer. The second year passer threw 49 passes last week but barely generated any offense from those attempts. It’s been increasingly apparent that the NFL is too much for Peterman to handle, and if Buffalo’s quarterback room heals up, he might not stick on the roster through the end of the season.
Barkley will be the fourth quarterback to start a game for the Bills this year. He’s the second quarterback to start a game this season within two weeks of joining Buffalo.
In other roster news, Tremaine Edmunds has cleared the concussion protocol and will start this week. Linebacker Ramon Humber was released, with rookie receiver Robert Foster rejoining the roster from the practice squad.