E.J. Manuel doesn't appear to be holding any grudges against the Buffalo Bills.
The former first round pick (16th overall) in the 2013 NFL Draft visited Bills training camp recently and had extensive praise for Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who was pegged as Buffalo’s next franchise quarterback when he was selected at No. 7 overall in 2018.
But unlike Manuel, Allen has lived up to the hype. He’s now the quarterback of the present, which Manuel acknowledged.
“I’m extremely excited for Josh,” Manuel said. “He’s progressed every single year. When you have a team that has success and possibly now a Super Bowl favorite along with the Chiefs — that’s what happens. You get paid.”
The Bills signed Allen to a colossal six-year, $258 million contract extension with $150 million guaranteed. He’s now the second-highest paid quarterback in the league on an annual average basis, only trailing Kansas City Chiefs signal caller Patrick Mahomes.
Manuel, of course, never reached those heights in his five-year NFL career. Former Bills head coach Doug Marrone benched him just 14 starts into his career, and he never returned to the starting lineup on a consistent basis. Manuel last played for the Oakland Raiders in 2017 before retiring and taking a job with the ACC Network.
While Allen showed promise during his rookie season, he failed to complete even 53% of his passes, and threw more interceptions than touchdowns (12 to 10). But he was provided patience, and improved in his sophomore campaign.
Then last year, he finished second in MVP voting while throwing for franchise records in completions (396), completion rate (69.2%) passing yards (4,544), passing touchdowns (37), passer rating (107.2) and total touchdowns (46).
Manuel played for a much more dysfunctional Bills organization between 2013 and 2016. Fighting for his job in 2014, Marrone benched Manuel after four weeks and went with veteran Kyle Orton, who led them nowhere.
Three months later, Marrone exercised the out clause in his contract and Rex Ryan took over as head coach in 2015. Manuel started three games in two seasons under him.
Meanwhile, Allen has always worked with head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. His success shows that player achievement is predicated on their team and coaches.
Manuel knows that better than most. Now like the rest of us, he’s just enjoying the Josh Allen show.
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