E.J. Manuel’s Time to Shine in Preseason

 

 
According to head coach Rex Ryan, the Buffalo Bills will plan to start quarterback E.J. Manuel against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Manuel recently hasn’t even been considered in contention to start week one of the regular season, but maybe Ryan has some faith in the young QB. 

“My plan was to give everybody opportunities, whether it’s equal reps or whatever,” said Ryan. “Nobody can say that nobody was given a fair shot here. EJ earned a shot at this. He played well in those two games as well, and really that (scrimmage) wasn’t like starting in a preseason game, so we’ll see. EJ’s always gotten reps with the threes and the twos, now it’s his shot to get reps with the ones as well and I feel good about that.”

Ryan is correct, Manuel has shown signs of life in multiple practices. He was also able to lead the Bills to a game-winning drive against the Cleveland Browns. 

The Bills plan to utilize all three quarterbacks with the first-team offense, according to Ryan. Expect for a clear-cut answer on who the starter is sometime next week from the Bills. 

With Tyrod Taylor and Matt Cassel also showing potential, Manuel will need to be in the zone in order to win his job. 

LeSean McCoy, Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, and Percy Harvin will all miss the game against Pittsburgh.