The Buffalo Bills have a three-man competition for the starting quarterback role, but it's quickly turning into a two-man race between Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor while EJ Manuel continues to fall behind the pack.
According to Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 in Buffalo, Manuel is losing ground on the battle while Cassel and Taylor battle for the No. 1 spot. Manuel, the only quarterback taken in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, has a 6-8 career record as a starter with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The lackluster start to his career led the Bills to trade for Cassel and sign Taylor for competition. According to Capaccio, the problem for Manuel has been erratic and inconsistent passing.
EJ Manuel just can't get off the mat right now. He's appearing to fall further and further behind in this competition, mostly because of (again) his inaccuracies. Manuel threw one pass down the sideline that sailed far out of bounds before it landed, not giving his receiver a chance to make a play in the field of play.
Manuel has a career completion percentage of 58.6, which would've put him near the bottom of the league among starters in 2014.
While Cassel is the man expected to start for the Bills in the team's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Friday night, Taylor is hot on his heels. Capaccio noted that Taylor is improving every practice and he is expected to be the second-team quarterback on Friday.
If Taylor, the former backup for the Baltimore Ravens wins the competition, it wouldn't be the most surprising result, considering the praise he has previously received from Rex Ryan. The Bills head coach previously said he attempted to swing a trade for Taylor while he was the head coach of the New York Jets, and Taylor turned down a better contract offer from the Denver Broncos so he could compete for the starting job with the Bills.
For Manuel, finishing third in the competition could mean the end of the road for him in Buffalo. Plenty of teams in the NFL are content to keep just two quarterbacks on the roster, and the Bills could take the opportunity to wash the team's hands clean of a previous regime's poor draft selection.
The decision to draft Manuel came under new general manager Doug Whaley, who took over after Buddy Nix stepped down just a couple weeks after the 2013 NFL Draft. Whaley told reporters that the selection of Manuel was a collaborative effort between himself, Nix and the team's head coach at the time, Doug Marrone.
Whaley is still the team's general manager, but with decisions to add players like Percy Harvin, Richie Incognito and IK Enemkpali, it's unclear how much Whaley is calling the shots with Ryan now on board.
When Nix selected Manuel, he raved about the former Florida State passer's size and strength, a must for a quarterback in Buffalo.
"I think you need to be able to play in the wind and the cold," Nix said. "He has got huge hands. He is really strong. As far as arm strength, he might depend on that a little too much. He may need some refining as far as some touch and stuff. As far as arm strength there is no question."
Two years into his NFL career, that "touch and stuff" hasn't developed like the Bills hoped it would. And it could mean the end of the road is coming soon.
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SB Nation archives presents: EJ Manuel is actually kinda good at trivia