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NFL Draft Rumors: Buffalo Bills interested in Bryce Petty?

By CM Towle

Jan 1, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Baylor Bears quarterback Bryce Petty (14) throws a pass in the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Baylor Bears quarterback Bryce Petty (14) throws a pass in the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Buffalo Bills met with Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty on Tuesday ahead of the NFL Draft.

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The Bills are showing very late interest in Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty, having met with him on Tuesday, only a few days prior to the Draft.

The close proximity suggests real interest, according to NFL Network’s Albert Breer.

The interesting thing is that the Bills do not have a first round pick this year and will not have a chance to be on the clock until pick 50. The question is, will Petty be available then?

If he is, are the Bills looking to draft a quarterback of the future?

Everyone knows by now that Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are considered the top two quarterbacks in the Draft, and Winston is expected to go at number one overall. However, many consider Petty to be a viable third-best quarterback available in the Draft and it’s entirely possible he will be available in the second or third rounds, given a lot of other teams with other needs.

Petty was cautiously excited about the Bills show of interest. He said via NFL.com that he figures any time a team wants to meet with a player, they must have some kind of interest. Petty did add that it could be a smokescreen to rile up other teams, i.e. to generate interest in Petty, while actually being interested in another player.

That seems unlikely, however, that the Bills would go to those lengths to create a mirage. Especially given they’re not exactly airtight at the quarterback position. You get the feeling the EJ Manuel experiment isn’t going to last much longer, thus the trade for Matt Cassel the previous month.

The Bills actually have a three-way quarterback competition going right now and it kicked off recently in a short minicamp. The quarterbacks involved are Cassel, Manuel and Tyrod Taylor. None of them look like franchise quarterbacks on the surface, but new head coach Rex Ryan tried to put his typically positive spin on the situation.

"“I feel good about the three guys. Is it a perfect situation? No, I’m not saying it is. But we have three guys, who in my opinion could be NFL quarterbacks. And we’ll see about the options as it goes forward. I think by the time we end it there will be a clear number one guy—that’s in an ideal world.” (via Pro Football Talk)"

You can easily read between the lines in the double-speak there. It sounds optimistic, but he’s probably not all that optimistic. The interest in Petty makes more sense every time you look at it.

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