The Buffalo Bills are dealing with some injuries at the quarterback position after EJ Manuel got a knee procedure and Kevin Kolb a concussion and after signing Matt Leinart, the team may set history, as undrafted QB Jeff Tuel could start Week 1 against the New England Patriots.
According to SI.com, the undrafted rookie from Washington State could end up starting, which would make him the first undrafted quarterback to start his teams opening game as a "true first-year professional" and that would be the first in the modern era, which Sports Illustrated says is from 1960 on. The Bills are hoping for some luck in that first game as they are throwing Tuel to the fire and while Manuel might be ready, the team clearly is ready to make history as well.
According to the article, some other quarterbacks have done the same thing as Tuel, but all those players had some professional experience prior to starting, including Tom Flores and Jim Zorn. Tuel went undrafted out of school and showed the Bills what he could do and now the team will likely start him in Week 1.
"Right now, we're planning on Jeff Tuel playing the first game and we're working with EJ to get back as quickly as possible," Bills head coach Doug Marrone said Monday morning. "Meaning New England. Right now that's how we're going about planning on doing it until we know more about where EJ is."
