Buffalo Bills: Trying to find help with Terrelle Pryor, Matt Barkley
Will the additions of wide receiver Terrelle Pryor and quarterback Matt Barkley be enough to help salvage the Buffalo Bills 2018 season?
The Buffalo Bills are certainly in the Halloween spirit. Hearing that Nathan Peterman is likely going to be the starting quarterback versus the Chicago Bears in Week 9 might be the spookiest thing to hear in the NFL. With Derek Anderson in concussion protocol and rookie Josh Allen’s elbow injury still lingering, the scary proposition is reality for the Bills.
Buffalo has made a few adjustments right at the trade deadline, but choosing free agency to do their work rather than the trade market. They signed quarterback Matt Barkley for additional depth, just in case the injury bug decides to infect Peterman as well on Sunday.
Barkley has bounced around in his career, and so far as accumulated a little over 1,900 passing yards with eight touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The sad truth is, he’s still better than what Peterman has accomplished with the Bills so far in his professional career.
Barkley could be the small patch to help cauterize the wound before Buffalo’s season bleeds out. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Barkley gets thrown in the game at some point while playing the Bears. Despite the temporary fix in the quarterback position, there are still other problems on offense to worry about.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
The Bills offensive line needs to step up to help protect whichever quarterback is under center. It appears Buffalo won’t address this problem until after the 2018 season, however. For the time being, the current O-line needs to take a page from Vince Lombardi’s book and get tougher in the trenches. A team flows much better when the front line remains stable.
Whether it’s Peterman, Barkley, Anderson or Allen, any quarterback plays better when they have some weapons around them. Kelvin Benjamin was brought to Buffalo from the Carolina Panthers to be a big target. As the primary receiver, Benjamin has 16 receptions for 262 yards and one touchdown. Midway through the season and Buffalo’s 6-5 receiver only has 16 receptions on the year. No wonder Buffalo’s offense has been struggling this season.
In response to the struggling Benjamin and receiving corps, the Bills decided to pick up free agent Terrelle Pryor, who was dropped by the New York Jets earlier this year, to bring in some additional help.
Adding depth to the Bills’ wide receiver corps was a clear necessity. A good question is whether Pryor was the right choice when names such as Amari Cooper, Demaryius Thomas and Golden Tate were potential options on the trade market.
Buffalo made a wise decision on keeping their draft picks for next year and find someone without spending too much. It begs the question if the front office in Buffalo has lost the number to reach Dez Bryant. At the very least, if Peterman or Barkley don’t work out, Pryor also has some quarterback experience as well.
Halfway through the season, the Bills don’t need to count their losses quite yet. There’s positivity knowing that Buffalo has a strong defense going for them. Any team that can prevent the New England Patriots from reaching the end zone until the fourth quarter shows a lot of promise.
Next. NFL Week 9: Coaches on the hot seat. dark
The second half of the schedule is much lighter than what the first eight games have entailed. There is still hope when Josh Allen returns that he can salvage the season with the components that he’s given. Hopefully, the Bills made the correct decision to help guide a string of wins for the future.