Bills like new QB Mike White's no-fear playing style, he's not just 'Checkdown Charlie'
“You've got to be fearless,” Buffalo Bills quarterback Mike White said. “Just cut it loose and have fun – no regrets. So that's kind of how I want to play. Smart with it, not risk the ball too much, but yeah, cut it loose."
Mike White likes to think he leaves it all out there every time he steps onto a football field.
Usually, that is an admirable trait for a quarterback, although as White jokingly explained Wednesday, it has come back to haunt him before when playing against the Buffalo Bills.
Starting for the New York Jets in a 2022 game against the Bills, White was on the receiving end of one of the hardest hits a quarterback can legally take – getting folded in half by Buffalo linebacker Matt Milano.
“The no-fear thing has kind of bit me in the butt a couple times, because when I go to Highmark, I’m sure there’s going to be a piece of my rib on the 30-yard line,” White said.
He wasn’t finished with the jokes, either.
“My one condition signing here was I just can’t be locker mates with Matt Milano,” he said, drawing another big laugh.
Bills linebacker Matt Milano pressures then New York Jets quarterback Mike White in 2022. White now plays for Buffalo. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Evidently, that condition has been met, because White has joined the Bills’ practice squad. He potentially could be called on to back up Josh Allen in Week 1, depending on the availability of Mitch Trubisky, who is dealing with a knee injury.
“We’ve obviously gone against Mike, I think everybody in here is very familiar with his career with all the time in the AFC East,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “The thing I always liked about Mike and respected about him was whether he started the game or whether he came in the game, he came in guns blazing and no fear, not just ‘Checkdown Charlie.’ He really did a good job, some good things.”
White had a good run with the Jets over the 2021-22 seasons, starting seven games and, for a time, capturing the attention of the New York media. He was briefly discussed as being the Jets’ quarterback of the future, particularly after back-to-back 300-yard games in which he threw six touchdown passes during the 2022 season.
“You’ve got to be fearless,” White said. “Just cut it loose and have fun – no regrets. So that’s kind of how I want to play. Smart with it, not risk the ball too much, but yeah, cut it loose. I think it helps when you’re prepared and you’re confident, so that’s why I try to prepare with my tail off and know as much as I can, so I can be able to go out there and play like that.”
The Jets ultimately drafted Zach Wilson and later traded for Aaron Rodgers, which led to White signing a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins ahead of the 2023 season. He was beat out this year in training camp by Skylar Thompson to be Miami’s backup to Tua Tagovailoa.
Being a vested veteran meant White, 29, didn’t need to clear waivers. After being released by Miami, he returned to his offseason home in Tampa, but didn’t have to wait long for the phone to ring, as Beane moved quickly to sign the quarterback, filling a clear need on the Bills’ roster.
“You can tell he’s a very smart guy, processes well, loves the game, tough,” Beane said. “I mean, for him to come back in that game (in which he was hit by Milano), some of the hits he took in that home game here, really, I already respected him a lot, but it really raised my level of respect. This guy is out there laying it on the line. We talk about it all the time, we say it, but this guy had some ribs cracked. I don’t know the exact diagnosis, but I’m excited that we were able to get Mike.”
Beane said it’s “truly unknown” weather Trubisky will be ready in time for the season opener against Arizona on Sunday, so that has created another layer of urgency for White in terms of getting up to speed with offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s system.
“Me and Kyle Shurmur have been having a crash course in this offense,” White said. “It helps that I’ve been through a couple systems, been through a couple spots, so you start to learn how to read offenses. Granted, it’s kind of easier when you’re getting ready for a team so there is a specific game plan to hone in on and you’re not having to learn the entire offense at once.
White’s first practice with the Bills came Wednesday.
“I felt like a rookie back out there today,” he said. “I didn’t know what drills we were doing, you know what I mean? So that wasn’t fun, but beside that, they’ve been awesome. They understand the circumstances. They’ve been super accommodating, helpful, any questions I have, Kyle’s been there. I feel like I’ve seen him more these past two days than he’s probably seen his wife. I’ll probably have to get him something nice for teaching me like I’m a rookie all over again, but it’s been fun.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen, left, shakes hands with New York Jets quarterback Mike White in 2022. Allen helped recruit White to join the team. Derek Gee, Buffalo News
White has some connections to the Bills. He has known Brady for a long time, having both grown up in Pembroke Pines, Fla. He was teammates with Bills receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling at the University of South Florida and with running back Ty Johnson on the Jets. White was in the 2018 draft class – being chosen in the fifth round by Dallas – which was the same year the Bills took Allen in the first round. As such, they developed a relationship during the pre-draft process. When Beane was trying to get White to sign in Buffalo, he even roped Allen into the recruiting process.
“I got a text from Josh with two eye emojis and all that good stuff, so it did kind of happen pretty quick, which is nice because you never want to be out for too long,” White said.
Joining the Bills after spending the previous few years in the division was an easy choice.
“All you hear about is the locker room, culture and stuff like that, so I knew that would be cool to be a part of,” White said. “This locker room, you can tell is super, super cool. I mean, these guys don’t know me from Adam and all these guys have introduced themselves to me and gone out of their way to welcome me to the team. You can tell that Bills Mafia, that culture you always hear about, especially playing in the division for so long, it’s real. It’s cool to be a part of.”