The Buffalo Bills have added depth to their quarterback position. They agreed to a contract with free agent T.J. Yates. How will this help the team?
The Bills were looking for a backup quarterback to starter Tyrod Taylor. They allowed EJ Manuel to test free agency. Manuel signed with the Oakland Raiders on March 16th.
This left the Bills with a big void to fill. The only quarterbacks left on the roster were Cardale Jones and Josh Woodrum. Jones is entering his second season with the Bills. He appeared in 1 game last year throwing for 96 yards and 1 interception. Woodrum spent the last two years on practice squads. They were thin at the quarterback position.
The Bills were patient in the offseason waiting to find a backup quarterback. The answer came earlier this week with the addition of T.J. Yates. Yates is a decent backup quarterback. He will be entering his 6th NFL season and the Bills will be his third team. Yates suited up for the Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons.
In his career Yates has played in 18 NFL games throwing for 1,534 yards and 6 touchdowns. He can also run the football to move the chains with a total of 56 rushing yards. If Taylor goes down, the Bills offense won’t miss a beat because Yates can find the open man and run the bootleg as well.
The downside, though, is he turns the ball over. Yates takes too many risks down field trying to pass it between double coverage. More times than not it would be intercepted. Yates has thrown 8 interceptions. He also has trouble holding onto the football with 7 fumbles, for a total of 15 turnovers.
The Bills are lucky to have picked Yates up. He is more experienced than the quarterbacks on the roster.
What do you think of the Buffalo Bills signing T.J. Yates?
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