The Buffalo Bills might be in trouble if their starting quarterback in Josh Allen get injured in 2026.
That’s is the case for most teams in the NFL, but Sports Illustrated’s recent list highlights the AFC East specifically.
Allen’s back up in Buffalo is Kyle Allen. Throughout his entire career Josh Allen has played through plenty of injury and has not played through any large injuries to this point… and hopefully that does not change next season.
But if the Bills need to hitch their wagon to Kyle Allen, SI is worried. The outlet ranked the NFL’s 32 backup quarterbacks head-to-head prior to the 2026 season. Kyle Allen lands in the No. 29 overall position.
SI’s breakdown on Kyle Allen can be found below:
It’s a bit surprising that the Bills, who are in win-now mode, don’t have better options behind Josh Allen. Then again, if the perennial MVP candidate goes down due to injury, this team has slim hopes for winning a Super Bowl.
Still, the decision to trust Kyle Allen as the backup could hurt the Bills at the worst time. Oftentimes, backups are just needed for a quarter or a game—or in the AFC title game. Allen has played eight seasons, but most of his starting experience came in 2019 when he started 12 games for the Panthers and he hasn’t done much since. However, Josh Allen and the Bills seem to really like the other Allen after bringing him back to Buffalo for a second stint.
Allen played for Buffalo in 2023 and has played for six total teams, including Washington, Houston, Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Kyle Allen replaced Mitch Trubisky this offseason via free agency as the No. 2 for the Bills.
However, in being slotted in at No. 29 on SI’s list, Kyle Allen is in good AFC East company. The entire division is in the bottom-five.
That bottom-five including the entire AFC East can be found below:
28. Tommy DeVito (Patriots)29. Kyle Allen (Bills) 30. Joe Milton III (Cowboys)31. Quinn Ewers (Miami Dolphins)32. Cade Klubnik (Jets)
Bills Wire will continue to provide updates throughout the 2026 offseason.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills in big trouble without Josh Allen based on backup QB rankings
Reporting by Nick Wojton, USA TODAY / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nick Wojton, USA TODAY | USA TODAY Network
