EJ Manuel

EJ Manuel
refer to caption
Manuel in 2013
Free agent
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1990-03-19) March 19, 1990
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 237 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High school: Bayside
(Virginia Beach, Virginia)
College: Florida State
NFL Draft: 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2017
Pass completions: 343
Pass attempts: 590
TD–INT: 20–16
Passing yards: 3,767
Passer rating: 77.1
Rushing touchdowns: 4
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Erik Rodriguez "EJ" Manuel Jr.[1] (born March 19, 1990) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Early life

Manuel was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He attended Bayside High School Virginia Beach, where he played for the Bayside Marlins high school football team.[2] 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 rushing for 541 yards.[3] He was considered a five-star recruit by Scout,[4] a four star recruit by Rivals[5] and both sites, as well as Sports Illustrated,[6] listed him the second best quarterback. He was an All-American quarterback in high school.

College career

Manuel enrolled in Florida State University, where he played for coach Bobby Bowden and coach Jimbo Fisher's Florida State Seminoles football teams from 2008 to 2012.[7] While he was a student, he joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.[8] Manuel became the second collegiate quarterback to win four straight bowl games, the first being Pat White of West Virginia (2005-2008).

Freshman season

Manuel took over for an injured Christian Ponder as the 4-5 Seminoles were in danger of finishing with a losing record for the first time since Bobby Bowden took over the program. His first start was an away game against Wake Forest. He completed 15-of-20 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown, leading the Seminoles to a 41-28 win over Wake Forest, who at the time had won three games in a row against Florida State.[9] Manuel struggled in his second game against Maryland but still managed to pull out a much needed win making FSU bowl-eligible.[10] Manuel's struggles continued against the dominating Florida Gators, and the mobile quarterback was not able to get into a rhythm as Florida State lost by a score of 37-10.[11]

Florida State entered the Gator Bowl 6-6 and in serious danger of letting legendary coach Bobby Bowden leave with a losing record. Manuel led Florida State to a 33-21 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers and won the Gator Bowl MVP honors.[12][13]

Sophomore season

Manuel started twice in the 2010 season in relief of Christian Ponder, who battled a nagging forearm injury. In his first start against Clemson, he picked up 71 yards on 15 carries.[14] He also led the Seminoles to a victory in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl against South Carolina in relief of Christian Ponder, who was injured in the second quarter of the game.[15]

Junior season

In the 2011 season, Manuel played in every game besides the loss at Clemson after injuring his shoulder in a loss against Oklahoma the previous week.[16] He finished the season with 2,666 yards passing on a 65% completion rate. He also finished with 18 passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, and eight interceptions.[17] He helped lead the Seminoles to a comeback win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Champs Sports Bowl by throwing for 249 yards and two touchdowns.[18]

Senior season

In the 2012 season, Manuel led the Seminoles to numerous wins over ACC rivals, an ACC Championship, and an Orange Bowl win against Northern Illinois for a 12-2 record in his senior season.[19]

Collegiate legacy

Manuel led the Seminoles to a 12-win season for just the third time in program history[20] and the first time since their dominant stretch in the 1990s. During his senior season, he threw for the second most yards in team history with 3,392, trailing only Chris Weinke's Heisman Trophy winning season, in which Weinke threw for 4,167 yards.[21] Manuel went 25-6 as a starter, won the first BCS bowl for Florida State since 2000, won five out of six games against intrastate rivals Miami and Florida,[20] and he led the offense to its most prolific season in team history, cleanly surpassing the 1999 National Championship squad with 6,591 yards.[22]

College statistics

PassingRushing
YearCompAttYardsPct.TDsIntRatingAttYdsAvgTD
20096910681765.126124.7441964.52
2010659386169.944153.3411704.11
20112033112,66665.3188151.21101511.44
20122633873,39268.02310156.01033103.04
Total6008977,73666.94728150.42988272.811

Professional career

NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks projected him as a top five quarterback heading into the 2013 Draft and compared him to Josh Freeman.[23] While Manuel possesses the blue-chip physical characteristics, work ethic, and leadership qualities necessary to be successful at the NFL level, he was faulted for somewhat inconsistent play at times during his college career.[23]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad
6 ft 5 in
(1.96 m)		 237 lb
(108 kg)		 35 in
(0.89 m)		 10 3⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.65 s 1.64 s 2.60 s 4.21 s 7.08 s 34 in
(0.86 m)		 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)
All values from NFL Combine[24]

Buffalo Bills

Manuel was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.[25] Manuel was the only quarterback taken in the first round of the draft, a draft that was seen as especially thin at quarterback (the Bills, who originally drafted eighth and had a great need for a quarterback, even traded down to obtain more picks); Manuel was drafted ahead of Matt Barkley and Geno Smith, as well as Ryan Nassib, who had played under Bills head coach Doug Marrone when Marrone coached the Syracuse Orange.[26]

2013 season

On June 14, 2013, Manuel signed a four-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.[27] The deal is worth a fully guaranteed $8.88 million, including a signing bonus of $4.85 million evenly spaced out annually ($1.2 million) over the next four years. His salary in 2013 was $1.6 million, $2.0 million in 2014, $2.4 million in 2015, and $2.8 million in 2016.[28]

Manuel made his professional debut on August 11, 2013, during the preseason against the Indianapolis Colts, completing 16-of-21 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.[29] Manuel underwent an operation on his knee to remove fluid buildup after the second game of the preseason and it was unsure if he would be ready to start the 2013 regular season opener.[30] On September 4, 2013, head coach Doug Marrone announced at the team meeting that Manuel was confirmed to be the starter for Week 1. In the season opener, Manuel completed his first touchdown to fellow rookie Robert Woods, on an 18-yard completion.[31] On September 15, Manuel engineered his first fourth quarter comeback, with a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown march to bring his team from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter with seconds left in the game. The Buffalo Bills went on to win in a Week 2 game against the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24-23.[32] Manuel was voted the "Pepsi Next NFL Rookie of the Week" for his performance.[33]

On October 3, 2013, during the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns, Manuel sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. The injury caused him to miss the next five weeks of his rookie season.[34] Manuel had an up and down first year, but was given a vote of confidence by coach Doug Marrone as he was announced as the starting quarterback for the 2014 season.[35][36] In 10 games of his rookie year in 2013, Manuel had 1,972 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. In addition, he rushed for 186 yards with two rushing touchdowns.

2014 season

On September 28, 2014, in a game against the Houston Texans, one of Manuel's passes was intercepted by All-Pro defensive end J. J. Watt and returned 80 yards for a touchdown.[37] The next day, Manuel was benched in favor of veteran quarterback Kyle Orton after starting the first four games of the 2014 season and bringing the Bills to a 2-2 record.[38] Manuel finished the 2014 with 838 yards, 5 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a career-high passer rating of 80.3. Orton would win seven of the next 12 games, finishing the Bills 2014 season with a 9-7 record, the first time the Bills had posted a winning record since 2004.[39]

2015 season

After posting the franchise's first winning record in a decade, Orton retired and Marrone opted out of the rest of his contract. The Bills then hired former division rival Rex Ryan as head coach. Manuel competed with free agent acquisition Tyrod Taylor and trade acquisition Matt Cassel for the starting quarterback job.[40] During mini-camp, Manuel struggled to compete for the starting job and was listed as the number three quarterback on the depth chart. Manuel performed well in the third preseason game, completing nearly all of his passes, showing he had improved his accuracy. On August 31, 2015, coach Rex Ryan announced that Manuel and Cassel lost the starting job to Taylor.

Manuel made his first start in over a year in Week 6 against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals in place of injured Tyrod Taylor, who suffered a MCL injury the previous week.[41] On the first drive of the game for the Bills against the Bengals, Manuel led the Bills 80 yards down the field for a touchdown. Manuel finished 28-for-42 passing with 263 passing yards, a passing touchdown, one touchdown rushing, and an interception in the 34-21 loss.[42]

Against the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 25 in London, Manuel threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns but had three costly turnovers, two of which were returned directly for scores by the Jacksonville defense in the second quarter. He rallied the Bills from 24 points down to take the lead in the fourth quarter. However, Jacksonville regained the lead with a Blake Bortles touchdown pass to wide receiver Allen Hurns, sealing the win 34-31 as the Bills were unable to respond.[43][44] With the loss, Manuel became the first quarterback in NFL history to lose a game in three different countries (United States, Canada, England).[45]

2016 season

Manuel with the Bills in 2016

On May 2, 2016, it was announced that the Buffalo Bills declined to exercise Manuel's fifth-year option for the 2017 season.[46] Manuel would see spot duty through the first part of the 2016 season, usually as parts of trick plays. With the Bills being out of playoff contention, Manuel started the final game of the regular season due to Tyrod Taylor being inactive. Manuel completed 9 of 20 passes for 86 yards before being benched for rookie Cardale Jones to start the fourth quarter.[47]

Oakland Raiders

2017 season

Manuel with the Raiders in 2017

On March 20, 2017, Manuel signed with the Oakland Raiders.[48] During the Week 4 game against the Denver Broncos, Derek Carr suffered an injury in the third quarter and was relieved by Manuel, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 106 yards and 1 interception as the Raiders lost by a score of 16–10.[49] Due to Carr's injury, Manuel started the Week 5 game against the Baltimore Ravens, completing 13-of-26 passes for 159 yards and one touchdown as the Raiders lost by a score of 30–17.[50] With the Raiders loss against the New England Patriots on November 19, Manuel became the first quarterback in NFL history to be on a team that would lose a game in four different countries (United States, Canada, England, Mexico).

2018 season

On March 22, 2018, Manuel re-signed with the Raiders.[51] On September 1, 2018, Manuel was released after the Raiders traded for AJ McCarron.[52]

NFL statistics

YearTeam GamesPassingRushing
GPGSCompAttYdsTDIntRateAttYdsAvgTD
2013BUF10101803061,97211977.7531863.52
2014BUF54761318385380.316523.31
2015BUF7252845613378.515593.91
2016BUF6111261310058.38222.80
2017OAK2124432651172.32157.50
Total30183435903,767201677.5963393.54
Source:

Personal stock offering

It was reported that Manuel would be offering stock in his future earnings via a venture with Fantex, Inc. as part of a new financial instrument being sold by Fantex. Manuel planned to offer a 10% share of all future earnings from his brand to Fantex, which would then turn around and divide it into shares of a publicly traded tracking stock.[53]

In July 2014, the Manuel/Fantex stock offering was completed. 523,700 shares were sold, valued at $10 per share.[53]

References

  1. ↑ "Manuel family strengthened by values, faith | Football | Sports | Toronto Sun". torontosun.com. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ Epstein, Nathan (2014-06-22). "EJ Manuel hosts first camp back at his alma mater". WAVY-TV. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  3. ↑ EJ Manuel Statistics, Rivals Yahoo. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  4. ↑ EJ Manuel Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  5. ↑ EJ Manuel Rivals. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ EJ Manuel Seminoles.com. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  7. ↑ "E.J. Manuel College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  8. ↑ "NIC 2012 All-Fraternity All-American Football Teams". North American Interfraternity Conference. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Florida State at Wake Forest Box Score, November 14, 2009". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  10. ↑ "Maryland at Florida State Box Score, November 21, 2009". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  11. ↑ "Florida State at Florida Box Score, November 28, 2009". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  12. ↑ Bowden goes out a winner as Seminoles dispatch Mountaineers ESPN, retrieved on August 18, 2010
  13. ↑ "Gator Bowl - West Virginia vs Florida State Box Score, January 1, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  14. ↑ "Clemson Tigers vs. Florida State Seminoles - Box Score - November 13, 2010 - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. November 13, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Chick-fil-A Bowl - South Carolina vs Florida State Box Score, December 31, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  16. ↑ "Oklahoma at Florida State Box Score, September 17, 2011". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  17. ↑ "E.J. Manuel 2011 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  18. ↑ "Champs Sports Bowl - Notre Dame vs Florida State Box Score, December 29, 2011". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  19. ↑ "Seminoles.com 2012 Schedule and Results". Seminoles.com. January 6, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  20. 1 2 "FSU wins Orange Bowl, 12 games _ no national title". MiamiHerald.com. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Fisher points to the numbers to say FSU close to a title run". Warchant.com. January 6, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  22. ↑ "FSU Wins 2013 Discover Orange Bowl -- Notes". Seminoles.com. January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  23. 1 2 "Geno Smith, Matt Barkley headline 2013 NFL Draft quarterbacks". NFL.com. January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  24. ↑ "E.J. Manuel | Florida State, QB : 2013 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  25. ↑ "EJ Manuel a surprise pick by Buffalo Bills at No. 16".
  26. ↑ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  27. ↑ "EJ Manuel signs Buffalo Bills rookie contract - NFL.com". nfl.com. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  28. ↑ "E.J. Manuel Salary Cap, Contracts, Salaries, Cap Hits, & News Profile". spotrac.com. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Watch Buffalo Bills vs. Indianapolis Colts [08/11/2013] - NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  30. ↑ Graham, Tim (August 27, 2013). EJ Manuel will need days of practice before green light. The Buffalo News. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  31. ↑ "New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills - September 8th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  32. ↑ "Carolina Panthers at Buffalo Bills - September 15th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  33. ↑ "Pepsi Next Rookie of the Week: EJ Manuel". NFL.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  34. ↑ "EJ Manuel out four to six weeks with LCL strain". UPI. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  35. ↑ "EJ Manuel Will Enter 2014 as Buffalo Bills Starting QB - NFL.com". nfl.com. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  36. ↑ "EJ Manuel 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  37. ↑ "Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans - September 28th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  38. ↑ Hanzus, Dan (September 29, 2014). "EJ Manuel benched; Kyle Orton to start for Buffalo Bills". NFL.com. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  39. ↑ "2014 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  40. ↑ Rodak, Mike (June 16, 2015). "Tyrod Taylor sharp for Bills while splitting reps with Matt Cassel". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Bills plan to start EJ Manuel with Tyrod Taylor hurt". Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  42. ↑ "EJ Manuel far from the spotlight in Bills' loss to Bengals". Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars - October 25th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  44. ↑ "Watch Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars [10/25/2015] - NFL.com". www.nfl.com.
  45. ↑ Hanzus, Dan (October 27, 2015). "EJ Manuel first starting QB to lose in three countries". nfl.com. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  46. ↑ "Reports: Bills decline QB Manuel's 2017 option". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  47. ↑ Alper, Josh (January 1, 2017). "Bills pull EJ Manuel in favor of Cardale Jones". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  48. ↑ "Raiders Sign QB EJ Manuel". Raiders.com. March 20, 2017.
  49. ↑ Stapleton, Arnie (October 1, 2017). "Denver Broncos hold on for a 16-10 win over Oakland Raiders". Associated Press. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  50. ↑ Adsit, Morgan (October 8, 2017). "Ravens Pick Up Crucial 30-17 Win in Oakland". foxbaltimore.com. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Raiders Re-Sign Quarterback EJ Manuel". Raiders.com. March 22, 2018.
  52. ↑ "Raiders acquire quarterback AJ McCarron". Raiders.com. September 1, 2018.
  53. 1 2 "Fantex Completes Second Football Player I.P.O., Though Demand Is Slack". New York Times.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.