Bills quarterback Mitch Trubisky rolls to his right and scores in the fourth quarter against Houston Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK

SI's NFL QB rankings suggest there are only three backups worse than Mitch Trubisky

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Ralph Ventre | Last updated May 30, 2025 8:30 PM ET

The Buffalo Bills need Josh Allen to remain healthy and available, plain and simple.

Should the NFL MVP quarterback need to miss any time, however, the Bills have a former No. 2 overall draft pick on the roster. The problem is that Sports Illustrated national writer Gilberto Manzano does not view Mitch Trubisky as a viable backup plan.

SI ranked all 32 teams' second-string quarterbacks, and Trubisky was three from the bottom. Slotted at No. 29 overall, the former Chicago Bears' franchise field general ranked ahead of only Davis Mills (Houston Texans), Tyson Bagent (Chicago Bears) and Kyle Trask (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Atlanta Falcons' demoted starter Kirk Cousins ranks as the No. 1 NFL backup QB followed by Jimmy Garoppolo (Los Angeles Rams) and Daniel Jones (Indianapolis Colts). All three have been QB1s at some point in their careers.

No AFC East backup quarterback made the Top 10. The Miami Dolphins were the highest amongst the four rivals, landing at No. 15 overall after adding New York Jets' draft bust Zach Wilson. The Jets are at No. 18 with grizzled veteran Tyrod Taylor in the role. The New England Patriots are rising with No. 24 backup Joshua Dobbs.

"Trubisky drastically improved during his first stint with the Bills. However, that wasn’t the case after two shaky seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, starting seven games from 2022 to ’23. The Bills supported their rave remarks about Trubisky by bringing him back to be Josh Allen’s backup last season. Luckily for Bills fans, Trubisky hasn’t made a start in two seasons in Buffalo." — Gilberto Manzano

It seems rather unjustified to rank Trubisky so low, especially considering his 31-26 career record as a starter. He took the Bears to the playoffs in 2018 on his way to a Pro Bowl nod.

Heading into 2024, Trubisky ranked as SI's No. 22 backup QB option. He appeared in nine games, mostly all in mop up duty. The 6-foot-2 field general went 19-of-26 passing for 179 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

For his career, the 30-year-old Trubisky has completed 64.2 percent of passes for 12,715 yards, 74 touchdowns and 48 interceptions. He also has 13 rushing TDs to his credit.