Kevin Kolb got the start for the Bills against the Redskins on Saturday afternoon and the absence of E.J. Manuel in the lineup had things set up for Kolb to play a lot and make his best case for the starting quarterback job.
His day appears to have come to an early end. Jeff Tuel was in at quarterback for the third offensive series of the game with Kolb off the field. The Bills’ television broadcast reports that Kolb is being evaluated for a head injury after taking a knee to the head at the end of a run.
Kolb’s brief appearance in the game showed pretty much the same Kolb we’ve grown accustomed to over the years. He was a bit too quick to run out of the pocket, leading to one sack and one scramble for a first down, and the Bills kept most of the passes on the shorter side, although T.J. Graham was interfered with on the one shot that Buffalo took down the field. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t particularly inspiring either.
Tuel has done well in the preseason thus far, so the team gets a chance a look at him with starters in order to see how he fares with the first string. That issue might be one of great importance given the health of the team’s other two options.
UPDATE 5:48 p.m. ET: The Bills have ruled Kolb out for the rest of the day with “concussion-like symptoms.” Kolb missed the final month of the 2011 season in Arizona because of a concussion.
The Bills are likely going to have to go shopping for a quarterback in the next few days with Manuel still recovering from knee surgery. The list of available options includes former Bill Tyler Thigpen, Matt Leinart and JaMarcus Russell.