BY NICK ST. DENIS
E.J. Manuel had been quickly trending toward a Week 1 start thanks to improving play, high upside and the struggles of veteran Kevin Kolb.
Manuel's audition is over.
The first-round signal-caller out of Florida State had knee surgery Sunday morning. He injured the knee in the team's preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings Friday night.
Bills coach Doug Marrone said Manuel will miss the remainder of the preseason and will be re-evaluated for Week 1. With that, Kolb has a chance to redeem himself over the next two weeks, as Marrone assured Buffalo does not plan on bringing in another quarterback.
Kolb missed the team's first preseason game and was shaky in his start last week. Manuel, meanwhile, had given the Bills good reason to give him the keys with a couple of solid showings and a better training camp than Kolb.
In fact, third-stringer Jeff Tuel has performed better than Kolb in the preseason, albeit against inferior defenses. Buffalo will roll with Kolb and Tuel for the final two preseason games while fans hope Manuel bounces back swiftly.
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