E.J. Manuel has yet to resume throwing for Buffalo Bills

There is still some outlandish hope that rookie signal caller E.J. Manuel will be able to suit up for the Buffalo Bills behind center during Week 1, but it’s quickly fading.

Manuel has reportedly not resumed throwing yet and head coach Doug Marrone wants Manuel to have at least three ‘quality’ practices in before committing to him in Week 1.

Per Buffalo News:

"The Buffalo Bills will hold five full practices between now and their season opener Sept. 8 against the New England Patriots.For rookie quarterback EJ Manuel to start in that game, it’s likely he’ll need to participate fully in a minimum of three of those.On Tuesday, coach Doug Marrone mapped out a realistic timetable that would give Manuel a chance of being under center in Week One.“I think there’s two things that you look at: A. The number of times he needs to go play, and then B. The number of days for that preparation,” Marrone said. “If the doctor said ‘you’re not going to get him on that field until Thursday and then he’ll be ready to play on Sunday,’ I would be concerned about doing that. If they said, ‘we can get him on that field Monday or Wednesday.’ I would see how he played and then make the decision.”Marrone said he expects to learn a lot about Manuel’s chances to play in the opener from his first practice.“We’ll see how, for lack of a better term, rusty he may be,” the coach said."

Assuming Manuel is unable to get those ‘quality’ practices in, Jeff Tuel will be thrown into the wolves as the Week 1 starter, but that’s something the Bills would obviously like to avoid if at all possible.