Buffalo Bills’ new head coach Rex Ryan said that the team will ‘absolutely’ search for a new quarterback in free agency and the NFL Draft this coming offseason.
Kyle Orton took over the starting quarterback job from E.J. Manuel this past season, and was able to lead the Buffalo Bills to a 9-7 record. They just barely missed the playoffs, but are heading into a new season that will see changes being made.
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Orton’s decision to retire following the season left the Bills with Manuel as their starting quarterback. Head coach Doug Marrone soon left the team as well, which opened the door for Buffalo to go out and hire Rex Ryan. Now that he’s the man in charge, Ryan has made it clear that E.J. Manuel isn’t going to be handed the starting job as all avenues will be explored in finding the right quarterback for the Bills in 2015 and beyond.
“Will we explore possible veteran free agents or draft picks out there? Absolutely,” Ryan said. “We’re going to explore everything to add competition because that makes your whole team better.”
Among potential free agent options for the Bills, there is one name that sticks out as an intriguing possibility. Mark Sanchez was Ryan’s quarterback with the New York Jets for the two years that they went to the AFC Championship game and will be hitting the market after filling in for Nick Foles with the Philadelphia Eagles.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Ryan go after Sanchez in the offseason, and it wouldn’t take much to convince Sanchez to sign with them if the starting job was guaranteed.
Manuel still has starting NFL quarterback talent, but he has to put everything together. During the five games that he played in this past season, Manuel threw for 838 yards, five touchdowns, and just three interceptions.
Those numbers certainly aren’t terrible, but they aren’t exactly impressive either. He does have the athleticism to make plays with his legs as well, but hasn’t had the confidence to live up to his full potential.
That being said, if he wants to win the starting quarterback job this coming season he has to use his arm strength and legs to make plays for his team. Playing reckless isn’t always a bad thing until it starts causing consistent mistakes that costs your team wins.
It is going to be an interesting offseason for the Bills, and don’t be surprised to see them bring in legitimate competition for Manuel at the quarterback position.
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