91 players in 91 days: Quarterback Davis Webb

The Buffalo Bills have a very simple pecking order at the quarterback position: It’s Josh Allen’s room, and then comes everybody else. The Bills have their veteran backup, and coming into the 2020 NFL Draft, they also had their younger, developmental prospect in the fold.

After a player who general manager Brandon Beane rated highly fell a bit, though, the role of the developmental quarterback prospect suddenly became a contested one. Thanks to the Bills following the “best player available” philosophy in the draft, the pecking order from No. 2 to No. 4 in the quarterback room is up for grabs.

In today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we profile one of Buffalo’s two young backup quarterbacks.

Name: Davis Webb

Number: 7
Position: QB
Height/Weight: 6’5”, 225 lbs.
Age: 25 (26 on 1/22/2021)
Experience/Draft: 3; selected in the third round (No. 87 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York Giants
College: California
Acquired: Signed to Bills’ practice squad on 9/2/19

Financial situation (per Spotrac): Webb signed a reserve/future deal in January worth a total of $1.42 million over two years. If Webb makes the 53-man roster, his salary-cap hit for 2020 will be $755,500. His contract includes $11,000 in guarantees.

2019 Recap: Webb spent the 2019 preseason with New Jersey’s other team, the New York Jets. He appeared in all four games, completing 29-of-45 passes (64.4%) for 253 yards and four interceptions. He saw his most extensive work in the preseason finale, where he completed 18-of-23 passes for 176 yards and two interceptions in an ugly 6-0 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Webb was released following the game, as the Jets went with Sam Darnold, Trevor Siemian, and Luke Falk as their quarterbacks. Webb spent the duration of the regular season and postseason on the Bills’ practice squad.

Positional outlook: With Allen the clear starter, Webb will battle veteran Matt Barkley and rookie Jake Fromm for one, perhaps two, spots on the 53-man roster.

2020 Offseason: Nothing new to report.

2020 Season outlook: Webb is likely going to be the odd man out in Buffalo’s quarterback competition, as they seem content (for better or worse) with Barkley as the backup. With the way it seems Buffalo had Fromm rated, I imagine that he’ll have a leg up on Webb for the third quarterback. The Bills have not kept three quarterbacks on the roster since Beane and head coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017, unless you count special teamer Joe Webb—who, until he appeared as Buffalo’s emergency quarterback in a driving blizzard against the Indianapolis Colts, hadn’t played quarterback since 2011 . If the Bills only keep Allen and Barkley, they’ll probably look to sign Fromm to the practice squad, meaning that Webb would be out in that regard, as well. Either way, it’s unlikely that Webb is with the Bills in 2020.