The Buffalo Bills were starting to panic with their quarterback situation. Presumed stater Kevin Kolb suffered a season-ending concussion in the preseason. The team placed him on injured reserve. Rookie first-round pick EJ Manuel was continuing to heal from knee surgery. The Bills were preparing to place their hope in undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel. However, Buffalo got some good news as Manuel made his return to practice, picking up where he left off.
Manuel returned to practice for the first time in two weeks. The Buffalo Bills team's website reports that he completed in all team drills and was not held back. Manuel had missed almost all of the preseason for what was reported as a minor procedure. While he might be behind on the playbook, Manuel's timetable should have him back by the season opener against the New England Patriots.
When asked by reporters about whether or not he would be the starter on Week One, Manuel simply replied, "Most definitely." Manuel was in a race for the starting quarterback spot with Kolb. However, when both went down with injury, things looked pretty dicey. There is nothing saying that Manuel will not have a chance to still be that opening day starter.
Head coach Doug Marrone noted last week that if Manuel could return, get a week of practice under his belt and show that he fully understands the offense, he could be under center against the Patriots. After the rookie returned to practice, Marrone stood by those comments. While he is not ready to name a starting quarterback just yet, Marrone said that Manuel "looked good and we were excited about it. We'll see how is goes later in the week."
Marrone told media that Manuel looked great moving around on the field and participating in individual drills. The head coach said the quarterback was certainly ahead of schedule in his recovery and the team was encouraged by it.
At one point the Bills had brought on free agent quarterback Matt Leinart, but they ended up cutting him to get down to 53 players. They signed on Thaddeus Lewis around the same time, but moved him to the practice squad. The team will now enter the season with two active quarterbacks.
At this point, unless Manuel's knee responds very poorly to being back at practice, the rookie will start. Buffalo and Marrone do not seem overly thrilled about the idea of starting an undrafted rookie. A week of practice might be all Manuel needs to get the start.