After back to back impressive performances, the preseason has come to an abrupt end for Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel. The team announced Saturday afternoon that Manuel has had a minor knee procedure performed and he will miss the final two preseason games.
The announcement came in a statement issued by Bills Head Coach Doug Marrone.
Team statement: #Bills QB EJ Manuel to miss remainder of preseason http://t.co/2RPsjGh1rb — Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) August 17, 2013
"EJ Manuel had some swelling in his left knee this morning and was examined by our medical staff," Marrone said. "An MRI revealed that he will need to have a minor knee procedure and that has been scheduled. He will miss the remainder of the preseason and then be re-evaluated at that time."
Manuel played the entire third quarter of Friday night's preseason win over Minnesota, a total of 25-plays. He finished 10-of-12 passing for 92-yards, including a four yard touchdown pass to Brad Smith on the opening drive of the second half.
He was sacked by Minnesota's Desmond Bishop and Andrew Sendejo on his final play in the game for an 11-yard loss. Fellow rookie Jeff Tuel replaced Manuel for the start of the fourth quarter.
Manuel has had an outstanding start to his first NFL preseason, completing 79-percent of his passes in the first two games, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Doug Marrone's statement indicated that seven year vet Kevin Kolb will get the start next Saturday night in preseason game No. 3.
"Kevin Kolb will be our starting quarterback for this weekend's game at Washington," Marrone said. Kolb started Friday's game against the Vikings and played the entire first half, after missing the preseason opener at Indianapolis.
There was no indication Manuel had suffered an injury after Friday night's Vikings game and no mention of it in the postgame interviews. But Marrone was asked about his quarterback plans for the Redskins preseason game, and he was hesitant to commit to a starter.
"You get a plan and then you practice through the week and someone gets nicked or injured and the all of the sudden you've got to make changes," he said Friday night. "I wait until we get closer to the game before I start making plans on what we're doing."
Marrone will address Manuel's injury and his quarterback plans after Sunday morning's training camp practice at St John Fisher College.
The Bills also announced that wide receiver Kevin Elliott has a torn ACL suffered in Friday night's Minnesota game. He will miss the rest of the season.
