Trent Edwards

Cut by the Bears in August of 2013. Edwards spent the 2012 season with the Eagles and only saw action in one game, backing up Michael Vick and Nick Foles.

With Mike Kafka and third-round rookie pick Nick Foles around, Edwards will struggle to make the final Philadelphia roster.

Will compete for the backup quarterback spot against Kyle Boller.

The Bills have been a wasteland for those seeking passing game production. The prospects for 2010 are also bleak. Terrell Owens is gone, and the Bills' receiving corps appears weak. None of this translates into success for Edwards. Last season he struggled mightily through the first seven starts before being benched. He still has a fair shot at the starting job with a new coaching staff in place, but it's a pretty poor situation if you're looking at a quarterback for a shaky team who's in a competition with the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm. The one thing Edwards has working in his favor is new coach Chan Gailey has helped average quarterbacks put up good numbers several times in the past, so we suppose Edwards is worth a deep flier in leagues where carrying a third quarterback doesn't cost you much.

Edwards’s value is inextricably tied to how much gas Terrell Owens has left in the tank. There are some other things to like here. Edwards averaged 9.4 YPA on first downs. That’s second best behind Matt Ryan among starting QBs. Hopefully for Edwards owners, the Bills are hip to this and act more aggressively in 2009. Success here elevated the overall YPA to 7.2, which is borderline good and what we’d expect from a QB with 20-to-25 TD potential. Edwards also had a 98.9 QB rating (fifth best) on our FAS throws of 11-to-20 yards from scrimmage, and the poor-throw percentage of 13.9 percent is close enough to average. The black mark on the ledger is the 36 sacks in just 374 attempts. That’s terrible primarily because sacks end drives and thus scoring opportunities. Secondarily, sacks get you hit and hurt. If Owens is anywhere near peak form, there is a dynamic duo of receivers. Lee Evans is too fast for defenses not to double, and you can’t double him and Owens on base downs unless you play five defensive backs, which teams will not do unless Owens proves to be prolific. Owens did not show serious signs of diminished skills last year. The speed was still there. Yes, he struggled with the jam and the deep safety behind it, but all receivers struggle with that. Plus teams can’t play that way as fearlessly with Evans on the other side. Edwards is a guy to target with the “last starting QB drafted” strategy, but back him up right away within the next round or two with another signal caller with upside just in case we’re wrong, and the circus has indeed left town for TO.

Last year, Edwards was poor across the board but not awful, which is a plus when you're a rookie. Hey, you have to start somewhere in the hardest job by a country mile in all of professional sports. Edwards was poor in converting red-zone attempts into TDs: seven percent TDs on throws from the opponent's 20-11, 11 percent from the 10-6 and 33 percent from inside the five. He averaged only 5.8 YPA on first down; if you can't throw it then, you’re in trouble because it only gets harder when the defense knows you’re throwing. Edwards will begin the season as the sure starter, but J.P. Losman could figure into the mix at some point should Edwards struggle. Edwards still has a long way to go to consistent offensive production, and we're at the point now where we need to see something first out of the Buffalo offense before we believe it. However, he has some things working in his favor: 1) the new offense will surely be more passer friendly; 2) every offensive starter from last season is back; 3) James Hardy should provide a big target the Bills have been lacking while also freeing up Lee Evans to do more for Edwards; 4) Edwards is planning on traveling around the country to practice with offensive members who were limited in spring workouts, which shows us a lot about his dedication; 5) there is almost no internal talk toward Losman possibly stealing playing time back from Edwards. Edwards is in that 23-25 range among fantasy quarterbacks, but look for a possible jump of 5-7 spots if things keep going his way.

The rookie Edwards will be competing for the No. 2 spot with Craig Nall. Both quarterbacks have little experience so it should be an interesting battle, as Nall knows the pro offense and is in his second season with the Bills, where all the terminology is staying the same. Edwards has more long-term upside, however, and the Bills feel they got a steal when the Stanford product was still available in the third round.