The Bills quarterback that won the team's competition at the position this offseason admitted he was caught off guard by the decision made by head coach Chan Gailey on Monday to go with Ryan Fitzpatrick as his starter for the foreseeable future. Trent Edwards wasn't expecting to be taking a seat on the bench so soon, but he made it clear he's committed to the team no matter his role.
"It surprised me," Edwards said. "I understand it's a business and we need a win and we need a spark and that's what I was told by Chan. I told Chan I'm going to handle myself like a professional and get here every day and find a way to help this team win. That's the bottom line. I'm not going to hang my head. I'm obviously frustrated and disappointed, but it's a long season and things can change and I'll still be ready to go."
Edwards, an offensive co-captain, will serve as the backup to Fitzpatrick following the switch.
As for the players in Buffalo's locker room the switch at quarterback also was a surprise coming so early in the season, and it was evident that some offensive players feel somewhat responsible for Edwards' fate.
"I think he got a lot of the blame that wasn't necessarily his fault," said Fred Jackson. "I think as an offense we just struggled as a whole. As always quarterbacks get too much blame or too much recognition at times. It's just something we've got to roll with. We'll do whatever we can to move forward and help Fitz out there as much as possible."
Head coach Chan Gailey, who broke the news to Edwards on Monday, heading into the season felt he saw a "light at the end of the tunnel" for Edwards. Entering Week 3 that viewpoint changed, and Gailey felt partially responsible.
"Any time you're a coach and somebody doesn't play up to where you think they should you feel like you haven't done a good enough job," Gailey said. "Obviously something needed to change and we had to have a change for the look of our offense and the feel of our offense and try to get something going differently.
"He and I have been very up front with each other since the first day he and I met last March. I told him exactly the lay of the land every time we've visited. If you're any kind of competitor you don't like it, but he handled it well."
For Edwards it's a scenario that he's unfortunately experienced before. Benched after a Week 10 loss to Tennessee last season, which also got his head coach fired, Edwards for the most part stayed out of the way over those last six weeks. Having been through that experience the quarterback faced the media Wednesday answering each and every question following his Monday demotion making sure everyone understood that he's not happy with what has transpired.
"It's been frustrating, but you guys know me well enough to where I'm not the type of person that is going to wear my heart on my sleeve," he said. "I do a good job of internalizing a lot of my emotions, but don't let that come across that I don't care. I obviously do care a lot about this team. I care a lot about these guys and I probably care a little bit too much. That's the way I handle this situation. I do keep a lot of things in, but I care a lot about this team and this organization."
