Mike White
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Mike White and Josh Allen warm up before a Buffalo Bills game.
The Buffalo Bills will open their preseason against the New York Giants on Saturday at 1:00 PM ET. Many big names won’t be playing in a matchup like Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Bills Will Rest Josh Allen in Preseason Game One
Every team handles playing their starters differently in the preseason, and Buffalo is deciding not to run out their MVP quarterback in a meaningless game.
The Giants will be starting their No. 1 quarterback, Russell Wilson. The 36-year-old has been in the NFL for 14 years, but this is his first season in New York.
Wilson is going to need many reps with the first string to get ready for their first regular-season game in four weeks. After Wilson gets some action, rookie first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart will be what Giants fans are watching.
The former Ole Miss star is supposed to be New York’s franchise quarterback. Preseason doesn’t mean anything, but first impressions always go a long way.
Cleveland Browns fifth-round rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders played amazingly in his first preseason game, throwing two touchdowns on Friday night. Dart has to be feeling that he’s got to outperform Sanders since he was taken four rounds before him.
While there is a lot of quarterback drama with the Giants, there isn’t any with the Bills. Allen will be the week 1 starter, and backup quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Mike White will compete for the No. 2 job.
Trubisky will get the start on Satruday, and then White will follow. There is a chance the Bills will move on from one of the two quarterbacks this summer.
Mike White Could Boost Trade Value This Summer
Moe Moton from Bleacher Report thinks White could boost his trade value with a good preseason.
“Last August, the Buffalo Bills signed Mike White to their practice squad, though they only dressed him for one game. In his second stint with the Bills, Mitchell Trubisky has entrenched himself as Josh Allen’s backup. He’s a mobile quarterback with starting experience, which makes him an ideal option behind Allen on a Super Bowl-caliber club,” Moton wrote. “Unlikely to surpass Trubisky on the depth chart, White can gain traction on the trade market. Between 2021 and 2022, he threw for 2,145 yards, eight touchdowns, and 12 interceptions with a 62.2 percent completion rate as a fill-in starter for the New York Jets. In a better situation, White could be a more efficient quarterback. He had a rough stretch through the 2024 preseason, throwing for179 yards with a 46.5 percent completion rate, but the eighth-year pro can boost his trade value with a better showing this year.”
White is on a two-year, $2.38 million contract and will be a free agent this offseason. Buffalo could move White to a team that needs a legit No. 2 backup, which could give them a little bit of draft capital in return.
White has played in the NFL for four seasons, throwing 2,247 yards and nine touchdowns in seven starts.
Many teams will be looking at their backup quarterback situation in a few weeks and may consider calling Buffalo.