With EJ Manuel and Kevin Kolb injured, the Bills recently added two more quarterbacks: Matt Leinart and Thad Lewis. Bringing their total to five.
In four days, the roster limit drops from 75 to 53. So will five of those roster spots go to quarterbacks?
Tim Graham of the Buffalo News explained on Tuesday’s PFT Live that the Bills likely will dump one or two of them, with the biggest question being the fate of Kolb.
Kolb’s latest concussion reportedly is career-threatening. If so, he could be placed on injured reserve. If Kolb is healthy, he could be cut before earning a $250,000 roster bonus and a $1.65 million base salary. Alternatively, Kolb could be cut with an injury settlement -- along with the $1 million signing bonus he received when he joined the team.
Next is the question of whether Leinart or Lewis will be released. That one probably will be resolved based on how they perform in Thursday’s preseason finale.
Regardless, the Bill will need to keep one of the two to serve as the backup to Jeff Tuel in Week One, if Manuel isn’t 100 percent. That means the Bills will have at least four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, unless they remove Kolb from it.