Where does rookie QB Cardale Jones fit on the Bills’ roster? Is it possible we see him take over as the backup to Tyrod Taylor? Heading into training camp, this is one of the big questions that needs an answer.
Buffalo Bills‘ rookie QB Cardale Jones has shown everyone what he’s capable of in his sophomore year — more specifically during Ohio State’s championship run late in the season. However, he also showed a great level of inconsistency the following year, which led to him eventually being named the backup and falling to the fourth round in this year’s draft.
If Jones had churned in a season similar to how he played in that late-season run, he could’ve easily been picked much sooner — say the Jets, who chose Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg with the 20th pick in the second round (51st overall pick). Depending on how good he did, he could’ve even gone to the Denver Broncos with the 26th overall pick. They, instead, went with Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch.
You can see the rest of the quarterbacks selected before Cardale here.
Let’s take a quick look back at this late-season run I’ve been yabbing about. It wasn’t until the final game of the season that Jones would get his chance to show the Buckeyes what he could do. During that game, Ohio State’s then-starting quarterback, J.T. Barrett, had broken his ankle and couldn’t finish the game vs. Michigan.
That’s when Cardale Jones came in and saved the day. Although the Buckeyes had already clinched a chance to play in the Big Ten Championship game, he still lead Ohio State to a victory against Michigan. Following that, he led the Buckeyes past Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon and finished the season with a national championship victory.
His late-season success carried on into the following season. Winning the position battle with J.T. Barrett, he was the team’s starting quarterback at the beginning of the season. That’s when things went wrong, though. He had trouble playing up to the expectations he set for himself the previous year and quickly lost the trust of the coaching staff. They ended up naming Barrett the starter once again, as he came back to his old form.
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After all that was said and done, Jones found himself being drafted by the Bills in the fourth round with the 139th overall pick. For someone who could become a valuable quarterback as he matures, it might’ve been the right place for him right now.
Personally, I like the pick. With Tyrod Taylor the obvious starter on this team, it’s nice to give E.J. Manuel some competition for that backup role. So far, heading into training camp, Manuel has the edge over Jones. However, given Manuel’s track record with the Bills, that spot will always be up in the air.
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During this year’s OTA’s and minicamp, the Bills gave a big workload to Jones. It gave the team a chance to see where exactly he was at with his game and what they needed to focus on going forward in order to help him succeed. Although he didn’t perform exceptionally well, there’s still promise surrounding him. He showed it a couple of times during the camps, but was the inconsistent player we saw in 2015.
With training camp being a month long, it doesn’t exactly give him a whole of time to win this spot over. On the other hand, if he can at least show improvement and become more consistent with his play, it could help him gain some momentum into preseason — which is where he will really need to step it up. By then, if he can’t show the Bills that he can read defenses properly, operate an NFL offense and make plays at the same time, then there’s a low chance the Bills put him in this spot.
To think about this positively, some players just need time to adapt. We know the raw talent is there, so it’s best to just wait and continue to work with him. It makes it a little less difficult knowing you most likely have the quarterback of your future, as well as a backup that has experience with the team as a starter.
In time, though, it would be nice to have a solid backup to work behind Taylor. Not just for injuries, which is how Kurt Warner got his chance, but they can also gain interest from other teams.
One thing is for sure, we will be following this battle throughout training camp.
What do you think of Bills’ rookie QB Cardale Jones so far? I think we could possibly have a hidden gem on our hands. Leave your comments below.