With Kevin Kolb still suffering from a concussion and EJ Manuel not exactly fit to play, the Buffalo Bills might play undrafted quarterback Jeff Tuel as their week 1 starter, which would make him the first undrafted rookie quarterback in the common draft era to start a season opener.
The concussion Kolb suffered from in the loss to the Washington Redskins is more than just something that calls for precaution. Sources close to the team are calling it serious and career threatening, with more and more tweets and bits of news coming out about his condition after the hit, as some suggest he couldn’t even tell anyone where he was shortly after taken off the field.
EJ Manuel underwent a minor procedure on his left knee. If he’s healthy, he’s absolutely the first option for the Bills to start with, but for now, it seems like he won’t be ready for the first weekend of NFL in 2013, pushing Tuel into the frame.
The 22-year old coming out of Washington State was passed over by all 32 teams 7 times during the draft, but made it to the Bills roster as their number three quarterback. He went 10-for-17 for 63 yards in the loss to the Redskins, but did look very impressive against the Colts (a 44-20 win with 19-for-23 passing and two touchdowns) and also got a chance to throw a few passes against the Minnesota Vikings.
Is he the ideal choice for any team to have as a starter going into the new season? Nope, and especially not against the New England Patriots. But the Bills were likely to go with a rookie in any case, and now they’re simply going with someone with much less of an upside according to scouts, but with fewer expectations out of him. In any case, if Tuel does start, it might mean that C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson will simply have to get more touches than initially planned.