Amid some more notable losses for the Detroit Lions on Day 1 of the NFL's free agency "legal tampering" period, it might have been easy to miss Kyle Allen, last season's backup quarterback, signing a two-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.
While Jared Goff has been very durable, with zero missed starts since 2021, general manager Brad Holmes' past professed focus on the No. 2 quarterback spot has yielded picking up table scraps after other teams have made their choice.
No team easily survives a significant injury to its starting quarterback, but if something happened to Goff the Lions would be especially in trouble. And not to jinx him, but if the offensive line struggles to protect him like it did last season the odds are against him lasting the entire season unscathed.
So with that, here are five backup quarterback options who should be on the Lions radar after losing Allen.
5 backup quarterback options for the Lions after losing Kyle Allen
5. Joe Flacco
Flacco apparently has eyes on competing for a starting job somewhere, but what are the odds that happens?, and one of those theoretical options (the Atlanta Falcons) is gone.
A return to the Bengals as Joe Burrow's backup is possible for Flacco, and it may even be preferable to him in some ways. But the Lions should have some interest now, and they have a nice situation for a backup to step into if needed.
4. Sam Howell
Howell has become well-traveled recently, traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Minnesota Vikings and from the Vikings to the Philadelphia Eagles in a matter of months last offseason.
During the one full season in his career where he was a starter, 2023 in Washington, Howell took his lumps (leading the league in pass attempts, interceptions and sacks taken) for a team that earned the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft. Following that, then then-new regime used that high draft pick on his replacement (Jayden Daniels).
Once upon a time, before the skill position talent around him was gutted by the NFL Draft before his final season at North Carolina, Howell was a well-regarded prospect and je's still just 25 years old. A coaching staff in Detroit that's filled with former quarterback coaches and quarterbacks could get him on the right track.
3. Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo never got credit for any success he had as the San Francisco 49ers' starter, then things fell apart for him in a bad situation with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Los Angeles Rams may want him back as Matthew Stafford's backup, but they are also likely to hone in on Stafford's potential successor in this year's draft.
The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a deal with Gardner Minshew, after negotiations with Garoppolo apparently hit a snag, so the idea of following former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur to the desert is gone.
The Lions need a backup quarterback who can keep things on the rails, like a point guard, to a bunch of skill position talent if something happens to Goff. "Jimmy G" is a dictionary definition of that.
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2. Jacoby Brissett
Let's do some wishcasting here. Yes, after the aforementioned move to sign Minshew, the Cardinals quickly made sure it got out there Brissett will be their starting quarterback next season. But plans can change, and if they're going to properly tank next season Brissett is good enough to win them more games then they want to win.
From the Lions' side of things, Brissett had the best production of his career last year in Arizona with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing calling the plays. He also started 11 games for the Cleveland Browns in 2022, when Petzing was the quarterbaks coach there.
With a potential endorsement from Petzing, Holmes should go ahead and ignore the Cardinals' lame attempt to curb trade interest in Brissett by making an offer.
1. Tyrod Taylor
Taylor defines the term journeyman backup, but he has also started at least four games in three of the last five seasons. Among available options, his 62 career starts and 100 career appearances stand out.
Taylor spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the New York Giants, with Lions' passing game coordinator Mike Kafka as his offensive coordinator there. In 2023 Taylor started five games for the Giants, completing over 66 percent of his passes with a 92.4 passer rating in those games.
There is probably not an offensive system, or any unique iteration of it, Taylor has not seen in his career. He's a nice-looking fit for the Lions as they pivot to a new backup signal caller.