Buffalo Bills Will Hold Open Competition for Starting Quarterback
By Josh Hill
The Buffalo Bills may have wanted to sign Michael Vick, but now that the Eagles have assured them that’s going to be impossible, the Bills are sifting through backup plans. As it stands now, the backup plan to losing out on Vick is to hold open competition at starting quarterback between Ryan Fitzpatrick and newly re-signed Tavaris Jackson.
Buffalo announced Jackson’s signing Friday afternoon and followed it up with the announcement that the starting quarterback role is up for grabs. But while there are two guys in the running right now, expect a third or even a fourth to enter the picture before we head to OTA’s and training camp this summer.
“I spoke with Ryan and Tarvaris and told them we will have an open competition at the quarterback position — similar to what we will do at all positions on our team heading into our offseason work,” Bills head coach Doug Marrone said. “I believe that our players will embrace this challenge. We are looking forward to working with our players as we prepare for the 2013 season.”
As it stands now, Fitzpatrick and Jackson are the only guys technically in the running, but the Bills have been heavily rumored to be after San Francisco 49ers backup Alex Smith and could also decide to draft a quarterback like Ryan Nassib if he’s available later in on the second or third day of this April’s draft.
And let’s not forget about Aaron Corp, who at the moment is just a body to the rest of the NFL but could end up proving himself like Nick Foles did in the preseason.
Basically, it’s a free-for-all when it comes to who the Bills will be starting come this September, but the battle to see who leads Buffalo into it’s new era will no doubt be an interesting one to follow.