Jim Kelly isn't impressed with the Bills quarterback situation. (USATSI)
Former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly was at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Saturday to see Buffalo play Tampa Bay and it doesn't sound like he was too impressed with what he saw. What he saw was Bills quarterback EJ Manuel go 9 of 18 for 67 yards in the first half of Buffalo's 27-14 loss.
Kelly was asked about the Bills quarterback situation during an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio on Monday and he didn't sound overly confident in Manuel -- or any other quarterback on the roster for that matter.
"To be honest, I'm not happy with any of them," Kelly said, via ESPN.com. "I would love to see EJ come on. I've heard him before talk to the press. Number one, he's a great guy. He's a great leader. I've heard him speak to the team, I've heard him speak to the receivers before they take the field. His leadership is there. Everything is there but I have not yet seen what we all want to see."
Although Kelly hasn't been impressed with Manuel, the former Hall of Famer still wants to see the second-year quarterback succeed.
"I'm pulling for him, and I'll continue to pull for him," Kelly said. "But that is a position without a doubt that is going to determine how the Buffalo Bills do this year. We have a good defense, great receivers, good running backs. It's up to EJ. He'll take us as far as he can, and I just hope he starts playing better."
It's not just Manuel who has struggled either, coach Doug Marrone hasn't been happy with the play of backup quarterbacks Jeff Tuel, Thad Lewis and Dennis Dixon. Dixon was cut on Monday and the same thing might happen to Tuel and Lewis if they keep playing the way they are.
"They either have to play better or we have to look to see if there's someone that can better that position, like we would any other position," Marrone said on Monday. "If we feel at the end of the day that it's not good enough to win with -- which we haven't seen that yet -- there's only two ways to go."
The Bills added a quarterback on Monday in Jordan Palmer, according to ESPN.com. The addition of Palmer could mean either Lewis or Tuel won't be around much longer.
As for Kelly, he thinks the Bills can win with Manuel, but the 24-year-old has to play better. "EJ has all the potential, he just needs to step up and do it," Kelly said.
Manuel's next chance to step up and do it will be on Thursday. Marrone said he plans to start Manuel in the Bills preseason finale against Detroit.
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