EJ Manuel Jr.

At 34 years old, EJ Manuel Jr. has this physical status:

Erik Rodriguez "EJ" Manuel Jr. (born March 19, 1990) is a former American football quarterback.

He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Drafted by the Bills to be their franchise quarterback, Manuel suffered several injuries and saw his on-the-field performance struggle.

After starting 10 games in his rookie year and throwing for 1,972 yards and 11 touchdowns, Manuel made just a combined seven starts and threw eight touchdowns over the next three seasons, sitting behind Kyle Orton and Tyrod Taylor on the depth chart.

After leaving the Bills, he then spent one year with the Oakland Raiders, sat out the 2018 season and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 before retiring during the offseason that year.

Early life

Manuel was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia on March 19, 1990. He attended Bayside High School Virginia Beach, where he played for the Bayside Marlins high school football team. In 2004, as a freshman, he started at quarterback and threw for 589 yards and seven touchdowns, as well as rushing for 219 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore, he recorded 1,332 passing yards and eight touchdowns as well as 276 rushing yards and six touchdowns. As a junior, Manuel threw for 1,973 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 345 yards and five touchdowns. In 2007, as a senior, Manuel passed for 1,859 yards, 18 touchdowns while also rushing for 541 yards. He was considered a five-star recruit by Scout, a four star recruit by Rivals and both sites, as well as Sports Illustrated, listed him the second-best quarterback. He was an All-American quarterback in high school.

Source

College career

Manuel attended Florida State University, where he served for assistant Bobby Bowden and assistant Jimbo Fisher's Florida State Seminoles football teams from 2008 to 2012. He was a student at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Manuel became the second collegiate quarterback to win four straight bowl games in a row, with the first being Pat White of West Virginia (2005–2008).

Manuel took over for an injured Christian Ponder as the 4–5 Seminoles were in danger of ending with a losing record for the first time since Bobby Bowden took over the program. Wake Forest was away from home for his first game. He had 15-of-20 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown, leading the Seminoles to a 41-28 victory over Wake Forest, who had won three games in a row against Florida State. Manuel struggled in his second game against Maryland, but the FSU bowl-eligible win was still needed to keep FSU bowl-eligible. Manuel's battle against the mighty Florida Gators continued, but the mobile quarterback was unable to get into a groove as Florida State lost, 37–10.

Florida State Bowl 6–6 and is in danger of losing legendary coach Bobby Bowden because of a losing record. Manuel led Florida State to a 33–21 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers and earned the Gator Bowl MVP award.

Manuel began in the 2010 season as a result of Christian Ponder's recovery, who suffered with a nagging forearm injury. In his first appearance against Clemson, he ran for 71 yards on 15 attempts. He helped the Seminoles beat South Carolina in 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl in honor of Christian Ponder, who was hospitalized in the second quarter of the game.

Manuel played in every game other than the loss at Clemson due to an injury in his shoulder in a loss to Oklahoma the previous week. He completed the season with 2,666 yards passing at a 65% completion rate. He also had 18 passing touchdowns, four running touchdowns, and eight interceptions. In the Champs Sports Bowl, he led the Seminoles to a comeback victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He had thrown for 249 yards and two touchdowns.

Manuel led the Seminoles to many victories over ACC rivals, an ACC Championship, and a 12–2 victory over Northern Illinois in his senior season.

Manuel led the Seminoles to a 12-win season for the third time in program history and the first time since the 1990s, the Seminoles' most prolific stretch. Weinke threw for the second most yards on team history in his senior season, behind only Chris Weinke's Heisman Trophy winning season, in which Weinke threw for 4,167 yards. Manuel, who won the first BCS bowl for Florida State since 2000, won five out of six games against intrastate rivals Miami and Florida, beating the 1999 National Championship squad with 6,591 yards.

Professional career

Bucky Brooks, a football analyst for NFL.com, rated him as a top-five quarterback going into the 2013 Draft and compared him to Josh Freeman. Although Manuel has the physical attributes, work ethic, and leadership skills that are all essential to be successful on the NFL, he has been chastised for some minor play during his college career.

Manuel was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round with his 16th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. He was the only quarterback to be selected in the first round of the draft, with a draft that was seen as particularly weak at quarterback; the Bills, who drafted eighth and then moved down to find more picks; and he was the only quarterback to be drafted in the first round of the draft.

Manuel signed a four-year deal with the Buffalo Bills on June 14, 2013. The agreement is worth a wholly agreed $8.88 million, as well as a signing bonus of $4.85 million spread out over the next four years. His 2013 salary was $1.6 million, $2.0 million in 2014, $2.4 million in 2015, and $2.8 million in 2016.

Manuel made his NFL debut on August 11, 2013, against the Indianapolis Colts in preseason, totaling 16-of-21 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. After the second game of the preseason, he underwent knee surgery to remove fluid buildup, and it was uncertain if he'd be able to start the season-opener. Manuel was confirmed to be the starter for Week 1 on September 4, 2013, according to team leader Doug Marrone. Manuel threw his first NFL touchdown to fellow rookie Robert Woods on an 18-yard completion in the season opener. Manuel's first quarter cameback on September 15, with a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown march to move his team from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter with seconds remaining. In a Week 2 game against the Carolina Panthers, the Buffalo Bills went on to win by a score of 24–23. Manuel was named "Pepsi Next NFL Rookie of the Week" for his efforts.

Manuel strained his right lateral collateral ligament ligament ligament in the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns on October 3, 2013, causing him to miss the next five weeks of his rookie season. Manuel's first year was up-and-coming, but coach Doug Marrone gave him a vote of confidence as he was announced as the starting quarterback for the 2014 season. Manuel had 1,972 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in ten games of his rookie season in 2013. In addition, he ran for 186 yards with two rushing touchdowns.

Manuel's passes was intercepted by All-Pro defensive end J. Watt during a game against the Houston Texans on September 28, 2014, a touchdown was returned 80 yards for a touchdown. After playing the first four games of the 2014 season and bringing the Bills to a 2–2 record, rookie quarterback Kyle Orton was suspended in favor of veteran quarterback Kyle Orton. Manuel finished the 2014 season with 838 yards, 5 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a career-high passer rating of 80.3. Orton will win seven out of the next 12 games, beating the Bills 2014 season by a 9-7 record, the first time the Bills have posted a winning record since 2004.

Orton resigned and Marrone opted out of the remainder of his deal after revealing the franchise's first winning streak in a decade. Rex Ryan, a former division rival, was hired as head coach by the Bills. Manuel competed for the starting quarterback position with free agent Tyrod Taylor and trade partner Matt Cassel. Manuel struggled to prepare for the first time in boot camp and was ranked third-string quarterback on the depth chart. Manuel played well in his third preseason game, getting almost all of his passes, demonstrating increased accuracy. Manuel and Cassel had lost their starting job to Taylor on August 31, 2015, according to coach Rex Ryan.

Manuel made his first appearance in over a year against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6 in place of an injured Tyrod Taylor, who sustained an MCL injury the week before. He led the Bills 80 yards down for a touchdown on the first drive of the game against the Bengals. In the 34-21 loss, Manuel was 28-42 for 263 passing yards, a passing touchdown, one running touchdown, and an interceptor.

Manuel threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 25, but he suffered three costly turnovers, two of which were returned immediately for scores in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, he raised the Bills from 24 points down to take the lead. Jacksonville, on the other hand, took the lead with a Blake Bortles touchdown pass to wide receiver Allen Hurns, sealing the victory 34–31 as the Bills were unable to respond. Manuel became the first quarterback in NFL history to miss a game in three countries (United States, Canada, and England).

The Bills declined to use Manuel's fifth-year contract for the 2017 season on May 2, 2016. He will be on duty throughout the first half of the 2016 season, most likely as part of trick plays. Manuel started the season's last game of the regular season after the Bills were out of playoff contention due to Tyrod Taylor's inactive. Before being suspended for rookie quarterback Cardale Jones for the fourth quarter, Manuel completed 9 of 20 passes for 86 yards before being suspended for rookie quarterback Cardale Jones.

Manuel agreed to a one-year deal with the Oakland Raiders on March 20, 2017. Derek Carr suffered a back injury in the third quarter and was relieved by Manuel, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 106 yards and an interception as the Oakland Broncos lost by a score of 16-10. Manuel started the Week 5 game against the Baltimore Ravens, completing 13 of 26 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown as the Raiders lost by a score of 30-17. Manuel was the first quarterback in football to play in four different countries after the Loss of the New England Patriots on November 19 in Mexico City. (United States, Canada, England, and Mexico) explains Manuel's debut as the first quarterback in NFL history to play in four different countries.

Manuel re-signed with the Raiders on March 22, 2018. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Manuel was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs on February 22, 2019.

Manuel resigned on May 13, 2019. He announced that he would be joining the ACC Network as a college football analyst shortly after.

NFL career statistics

Source:

Source