Monday, February 24, 2014

Backup Thad Lewis is on good terms with Bills brass

BY LANDON RODY

After being thrust from the practice squad into the starting quarterback position in the span of a few days last season, Thad Lewis impressed some people.

One of those people: Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley. "We’re very happy with Thad Lewis," Whaley recently told wivb.com.

Lewis was solid in some games and struggled in others. In the six total contests he played in, he completed 59.2 percent of his passes, compiling four touchdowns to three interceptions.

"One of the things that [Bills President] Russ Brandon said that John Butler always told him is, in your backup quarterback, you want a guy to go .500 (as a starter)," Whaley said. "Now, he went 2-3, is that good enough? Obviously not, you’d rather him go 5-0, but we’re very comfortable with him."

The 26-year-old threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns in his first game against the 11-5 Cincinnati Bengals and amassed 247 yards and one touchdown against the AFC East champion New England Patriots.

With Lewis as a starter, the Bills averaged just over 22 points per game, about the same number as when EJ Manuel got the nod. With Kevin Kolb's status uncertain and the Bills' apparent commitment to other positions early in the draft, Lewis is a near lock as the first, or at least second, backup to the injury-prone Manuel.

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