Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel has been battling a knee injury for five weeks. He sprained his LCL against the cleveland Browns and hasn’t played since. Manuel has been cleared to practice and is returning to the practice field today.
“Unless he has a setback, he should be ready to go,” CEO Russ Brandon said. “He’s full go when he comes to the practice field today.”
Though there have been reports that he is still a couple of weeks away from playing. Ultimately, head coach Doug Marrone will decide when Manuel returns to the line up. There could be pressure to bring him in as soon as possible, but with a rookie quarterback you envision as being the franchise player, you could see the Bills exercising caution and holding him out another week.
In the games Manuel has started, the Bills are 2-2. For the season Manuel has completed 85 of 150 passes for 985 yards and five touchdowns. In his absence the Bills have gone 1-3 or 1-4 if you count the game he was injured in.
Thad Lewis has played well in his absence, completing 60.2 percent of his passes for 652 yards and three touchdowns in the three games he played in. Lewis is currently listed as questionable.