Coach Rex Ryan said on WGR Radio 550 on Friday that it will be an open competition between Cassel (foot) and the other Buffalo quarterbacks, BuffaloBills.com reports. Said the new coach. "It's a competition and whoever earns the job will be the guy that's

Coach Rex Ryan said on WGR Radio 550 on Friday that it will be an open competition between Cassel (foot) and the other Buffalo quarterbacks, BuffaloBills.com reports. Said the new coach. "It's a competition and whoever earns the job will be the guy that's out there. We have some talented guys and we'll see what happens. You bring in a veteran like Matt Cassel. He's done some pretty good things in this league. He's got that veteran presence about him. With EJ back there just going into his third year I really believe EJ is going to improve with his fundamentals having (quarterbacks coach) David Lee here. I love the fact that he's a gym rat and he's smart. With our offense being multiple we'll be able to get out of bad plays, so the mental part of it all of the quarterbacks we have should be able to handle that."

Analysis:

The Bills also have Tyrod Taylor and Jeff Tuel in the mix, plus they might bring in one more guy, but presumably the real competition will be between Cassel and EJ Manuel. While neither player is the next coming of Jim Kelly or anywhere close, this will possibly be the biggest tossup in the league this summer as far as starting quarterbacks go. Manuel has the bigger upside, but he hasn't proven much of anything in limited appearances yet, while the Bills could side with Cassel if they feel they have a strong enough team elsewhere (the defense should be one of the league's better units) and decide to take the safer, veteran route.