A Cowboys-Bills trade to avoid the worst-case scenario for Josh Allen

The Buffalo Bills have been one of the few teams fortunate enough to feature a franchise quarterback. With quarterback Josh Allen blossoming into one of the league’s best dual-threat quarterbacks, the Bills have transformed into annual Super Bowl contenders for the first time since their four consecutive title appearances in the early 1990s.

This offseason has been a difficult one for Buffalo. After a disappointing 2023 campaign, the Bills were forced to purge their roster of aging, disgruntled, or oft-injured stars. Superstar wide receiver Stefon Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans, while the once-great franchise cornerback Tre’Davious White was released. Buffalo also parted ways with the long-time secondary duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

Despite the gut-wrenching playoff losses and significant injuries, Buffalo has been fortunate to see Allen in good health. Still, injury is always a risk for any dual-threat quarterback, especially one that has a propensity to fight through contact. 

If Allen were to miss time, the Bills current quarterback room features Mitchell Trubisky and Shane Buechele. While Trubisky has a close bond with Allen from his previous stint with Buffalo, he doesn’t offer much upside if Allen were to miss any time with an injury. 

Buffalo Bills should consider trade for QB Trey Lance

Buffalo has been quite limited with their salary cap space this offseason, but they could potentially acquire a developmental quarterback with upside for a relatively low price. 

Having an adequate backup quarterback is essential, and it wouldn’t hurt the Bills to bolster their options at the position through a trade for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance.

Dallas declined to pick up the fifth-year option on Lance’s rookie contract, hinting that his departure from the team is imminent.

The Bills currently possess eight selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, including two sixth-round picks. The Bills are also expected to receive two compensatory picks in 2025 — a fourth-round selection for the offseason departure of wide receiver Gabriel Davis, and a fifth-round pick for the departure of defensive end Leonard Floyd. 

For the Bills, trading their two sixth-round picks for a potential improvement at backup quarterback could prove to help them if Allen has to miss a few games before a postseason run. 

While two sixth-round picks may not seem like much, those picks could prove to be vital. With such a top-heavy roster, Dallas could use as many draft picks as possible to round out their roster with depth players on rookie deals. 

Trading Lance would provide the Cowboys with some value for the developmental quarterback before he leaves in free agency next offseason. The Cowboys could opt to keep him as a backup quarterback behind Prescott, but trading him for draft picks could prove to be more beneficial for a Dallas team that desperately needs to find salary cap space to sign their star players. 

The Bills signed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to serve as Allen’s backup in free agency, but Lance represents a potential developmental quarterback with higher upside than Trubisky.

Trubisky has been a backup for a reason: He’s struggled with inconsistency since he was infamously drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 2017 NFL Draft. The 29-year-old spent the past two seasons as a backup option for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2022 and 2023, Trubisky compiled a 2-5 record as a starter in 7 games.

The Steelers started Trubisky after Kenny Pickett suffered an injury, but they lost faith in him after just two games. In February, the Steelers released Trubisky in favor of fielding quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.