Kevin Kolb has won the in-house battle with Tarvaris Jackson. But that doesn’t mean Kolb will be the starter in Buffalo.
The Bills have announced that Jackson has been released.
Apart from the loss of $500,000 in bonus money that was paid to Jackson in February, the move means that the Bills are comfortable with having rookie EJ Manuel back up the oft-injured Kolb. And if that’s where the Bills are after only several weeks of offseason work with Manuel, chances are they’ll be comfortable making him the starter come September.
Kolb likely will be Manuel’s understudy, under a contract that, as we reported in April “screams backup.” Basically, Kolb will be in line for a lot more money if he plays, which is all the more reason to let Manuel, whose contract will be restricted by the rookie wage scale, at least start the season as the starter.
So while Kolb has won the battle, today’s move puts Manuel in position to win the job.