On Monday morning the Oakland Raiders announced that they have signed unrestricted free agent quarterback EJ Manuel.
Manuel was a first round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2013 out of Florida State and has spent all four of his NFL seasons in Buffalo. He has played in 29 games in his career, starting 17 of them.
In those four seasons Manuel completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 3,502 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
He was named the team’s starter as a rookie, and ended up starting a career-high 10 games in 2013, throwing for 1,972 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The 27-year-old served as the primary backup to starter Tyrod Taylor the last couple seasons in Buffalo. He will have an opportunity to do the same in Oakland, as the team’s backup from last year Matt McGloin is a free agent and won’t be returning.
Manuel will likely be competing with Connor Cook, who started the Raiders lone playoff game last season, in Training Camp to serve as Derek Carr’s backup.
According to Eddie Paskal of Raiders.com, former Raiders quarterbacks coach and current offensive coordinator Todd Downing played a big role in his deciding to come to Oakland:
Just chatted with EJ Manuel who said that the presence of OC Todd Downing was "almost everything" in his decision to sign with the #Raiders.
— Eddie Paskal (@EddiePaskal) March 20, 2017
Carr was also said to be heavily involved in the recruiting of Manuel, as he has been with many free agents this offseason.
