The Facts: Even though Cassel will likely start for the Buffalo Bills in their first preseason game, Buffalo's quarterback competition appears to be far from over. Bills coach Rex Ryan made the announcement after a team scrimmage Saturday night, saying that Cassel will "probably" start Buffalo's preseason opener against Carolina on Aug. 14. Ryan added that Buffalo will rotate starters at QB in the preseason. "We'll probably start Cassel in the first game against Carolina and let's go from there," Ryan said.
Diehards Line:
Cassel is part of a three-way quarterback competition that includes EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor. Saturday night's scrimmage — which Ryan had considered a critical part of the competition — didn't answer all the questions. All three quarterbacks have had mixed results to begin training camp, and Saturday was no exception. They largely struggled to move the ball down the field, with occasional moments of production. Ryan acknowledged that he is still waiting for a quarterback to separate himself from the group. "I was hoping to see something else pop through there but it didn't," Ryan said. Unofficially, Manuel had the best evening out of the trio. Manuel completed 5 of 11 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Taylor completed 8 of 13 passes for 77 yards, and Cassel completed 2 of 6 passes for 27 yards. In 17 possessions, Buffalo's offense scored 13 points. Again, we don't much care who gets the starting nod in Buffalo as long as that starter demonstrates some ability to fuel the rest of the team's fantasy prospects. Stay tuned.