Without any clear-cut leader one week into training camp, the Buffalo Bills will likely stretch out their quarterback competition into the start of the regular season.
This shouldn’t shock anyone who has been keeping track of this story, though as Mike Rodak notes, it is a “significant development” as we head into Week 1 of the preseason.
Pretty significant development in Bills' QB battle for Rex Ryan to say he may not name a starting QB until Sept. 13, the Bills' opener.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) August 7, 2015
Reports out of Bills camp haven’t been promising for any of the three contenders.
Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor have all struggled mightily throughout most of the first week, though there have been a few bright spots along the way.
As recently as August 5, Buffalo still had Cassel atop the depth chart, per the Buffalo News. However, just the next day Manuel had the best day of camp, according to Joe Buscaglia.
EJ has had the day of practice he needed to today. It's a good step in the right direction. Didn't like Cassel's day. Liked Taylor, too.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 6, 2015
Taylor, however, had been reportedly outplaying Manuel to open camp.
So, you can clearly see, the situation is as muddled as it can possibly be. Rex Ryan cannot be happy that he’s in this situation, but he must make the most out of it.
Preseason games will likely be the determining factor when making the decision. Practice sessions can only tell the coaches so much. Live-game action is the real measuring stick upon which these quarterback will be judged.
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