The Oakland Raiders have begun to fill out their roster for the 2017 NFL season and made some worthy additions to the team in wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse. Both figure to be starters for the Raiders and have an immediate impact on the offensive end.
After Derek Carr broke his leg in the regular season, Matt McGloin replaced him as the starter the next game against the Denver Broncos but injured his shoulder. Connor Cook finished the game, which resulted in a loss, and the Raiders eventually fell to the Houston Texans in the wild card round of the playoffs. With McGloin an unrestricted free agent this offseason, the team needed to find another backup in the event he left and according to Raiders, the team found their man:
The Oakland Raiders have signed unrestricted free agent QB EJ Manuel, the club announced Monday.
Manuel has spent the past three seasons with the Buffalo Bills and has shown flashes of being a good quarterback. However, injuries and inconsistency relegated Manuel to the bench in favor of other Bills quarterbacks. Still, the signing makes sense for the Raiders as Manuel provides the team with an insurance policy in the event Carr is not ready to play right away.
Manuel was originally drafted by the Bills 16th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft and started in 17 of the 28 games he appeared in. He managed to throw for 3,502 yards — good for 19 touchdowns against 15 interceptions.
