Will EJ Manuel Make The 53-Man Roster

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The Buffalo Bills are starting into their 3rd week in May with their offseason workouts, which are all voluntary.  They will begin their OTAs next week and 2 weeks into June.  After that, they will hit training camp, which begins July 20th at 6pm at night.  

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Training camp has not yet begun and EJ Manuel is already on the hot seat not as far as being the starting quarterback, but even making this team.  There is a chance, however small, that he may not make the 53 man roster. Manuel is facing an uphill battle in just about every aspect of his game and career at this point.

The Buffalo Bills brought in Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor, a Rex Ryan favorite, to compete for the starting quarterback job.  With Jeff Tuel also on the roster, there are 4 quarterbacks for only 3 spots, one will be leaving. EJ Manuel was the Buffalo Bills first round draft pick in 2013, which some saw as a reach at the 16th overall spot.

He has yet to play in a full season and has not even played in the number of games to equal a full season over the two that he has been present for die to injuries and lack of performance. It is now being reported by Joe Buscaglia that Manuel may not even make the team.

"That’s the word from Joe Buscaglia of WKBW in Buffalo, who reports that Manuel may be done in Buffalo at the end of training camp. Buscaglia reports that the Bills would cut Manuel if they don’t see “serious progress” this spring and summer. – PFT.com"

EJ Manuel has a guaranteed contract for the next two years, where he is set ot make 2.8 million in each year.  With it being fully guaranteed, the Buffalo Bills will be obligated to pay that money whether EJ Manuel is on the team or not.  Based on this, it is unlikely that the Buffalo Bills will be cutting Manuel at any point this year, and it would be financially better and logical to keep him this year and cut your losses next.

This thought process goes to the point, that the Bills are limited on their cap space this year, with a lot of aggressive signings in the beginning of free agency along with some trades prior to the start of free agency. If the Buffalo Bills cut EJ Manuel, they are basically stating that they would rather pay him not to be on the team than to sit on the sideline and get paid.

It does also open up another roster spot for someone that might actually contribute to the overall performance of the team.

Next: Buffalo Bills Circling The Wagons - May 18th Edition

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