E.J. Manuel may play in Buffalo Bills season opener

The Buffalo Bills were doing everything they could to give E.J. Manuel the keys to the offense, but an unexpected knee operation shut down that idea before it could really begin.

Now in recovery mode, Manuel is doing well and reportedly had the most minor operation possible, according to Adam Caplan:

"E.J. Manuel’s “minor” left knee surgery was to remove some floating or loose meniscus, source said."

It’s a relatively easy procedure (says the guy not undergoing the surgery) and doesn’t put much strain on the body, so it’s possible that Manuel could return for Week 1.

The Bills said yesterday they’d prefer Manuel to go through three practices before declaring him ready, so assuming he can do that, he has the opportunity to start Week 1.

If he’s unable to do so, it seems extremely unlikely he’d miss anymore than one game and be ready for Week 2.

Either way, it sounds as if we’ll be seeing Manuel on the field shortly, which should alleviate any extended periods of Jeff Tuel starting.