Bills Cut Ties With QB Trent Edwards

By: Tyler Ward

Well, the Trent Edwards era is over in Buffalo. The Bills announced Monday that they have released quarterback Trent Edwards. Edwards was the team’s starter for the first two weeks before being benched in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bills ended up losing their third straight game anyway, falling 38-30 against the New England Patriots on Sunday and becoming the only winless team in the AFC East.

The Bills had reportedly tried to trade Edwards, but could find no suitors, so they just went ahead and released the former Stanford quarterback. Edwards might have been traded if he had better numbers – in his two starts this season, he threw for just 241 yards and got sacked seven times. He led the Bills offense to a dismal 17 points, while the opposing teams combined for 49. No wonder they couldn’t trade him.

The release of Edwards marks the end of a three-year stint with the Bills. A third-round draft choice in 2007, Edwards was thought to be the franchise quarterback. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up that way.

In the middle of his rookie season, Edwards took over for 2004 first-round draft pick J.P. Losman midway through the year. He ended his rookie campaign with 1,630 yards and seven touchdowns, along with eight interceptions. However, there was no “sophomore slump” for Edwards, as he had the best season of his short career (so far). He passed for 2,699 yards, along with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and an 85.4 QB rating. But, he got worse in his third season, playing in half of the season, tossing for 1,169 yards. He would also throw six touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Now, one question remains: Who will he sign with? Somehow, Edwards is one of the best free agent quarterbacks, so a team is likely to take a shot on him. But, who will that be? I think that teams like the Jaguars, Raiders, Browns, Panthers, and Cardinals need a quarterback, whether it’s for the starting job or in a back-up role. Also, don’t count out teams like the Lions, Seahawks, and possibly the 49ers. I don’t think Edwards will be on the free agent market for long.

For the Bills now, Ryan Fitzpatrick is penciled in as the starter with Brian Brohm listed as the back-up. Against the Patriots, Fitzpatrick showed that the team can actually do something on offense. In the game alone, they almost doubled their output, scoring-wise, from the first two games of the season. But, is Fitzpatrick the long-term key for the Bills? Probably not. We will most likely see the Bills take a chance on a quarterback in the first round of next year’s draft and most are already envisioning Washington QB Jake Locker in that role (however, we can still see somebody different – like Andrew Luck, who coincidentally goes to Stanford, Trent Edwards’ alma mater). But, for now, the Bills still remain winless (0-3) and in my opinion, they will be lucky to win three games. I consider it almost a shoo-in for them to hold the #1 pick in next year’s draft unless Detroit or St. Louis slips up somewhere down the road.

Fitzpatrick is not a prototypical starter, but he’ll do for the time being. Maybe the Bills can get lucky and win more games. I highly doubt it, though. They lack too much at the receiver position with Lee Evans being the main and only target. Their defense also needs some work, as they have surrendered 87 points in three games this season. The Bills are still in a rebuilding phase and they still may be that way for a few more years.