Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel struggled adjusting to the starting gig his first year and a half, having been plagued by injuries as a rookie and failing to get a good handle on things as a young sophomore.
Manuel combined for 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 14 total starts, and four weeks into his second season, he was replaced by veteran Kyle Orton.
Despite the demotion, the Bills’ front office doesn’t believe Manuel’s season is lost. In fact, they say it was the plan all along.
“We believe it’s not. It goes back to our original plan,” general manager Doug Whaley said this week, via BuffaloBills.com. “When we first drafted EJ, we had the plan of having a veteran quarterback come in and mentor him until we thought he was ready. When Kevin Kolb went down with an injury it thrust him into the starting role quicker than we expected.
"Now since then we have re-set the original plan.”
In 2013, the Bills brought in Kolb, who subsequently went down with a career-ending concussion, to act as a mentor of sorts for Manuel. However, Kolb's fate put Manuel into the starting role by default for ten games--a span in which he threw nine interceptions and fumbled six times--while Manuel accumulated some injury time of his own.
Now healthy, he's staying on the sidelines, where the team hopes he can develop his skills... as was the supposed "plan" to begin with.
Now healthy, he's staying on the sidelines, where the team hopes he can develop his skills... as was the supposed "plan" to begin with.
