Manuel finds peace as QB for Raiders
ALAMEDA, Calif. — EJ Manuel is in a good place.
The Raiders backup quarterback is at ease each day he arrives to work. He is not the subject of scalding newspaper columns or talk radio sound-offs, the sort of chatter that once agitated him. Encouragement is prevalent from the coaching staff. Whatever cloud comes with being a first-round draft pick has dissipated. Manuel seems comfortable.
That wasn’t always the case. Manuel spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills as a 2013 first-round draft pick. He will return to Orchard Park, New York, this weekend as the No. 2 option behind Derek Carr. It has been Manuel’s preference to devote minimal time toward looking back, embracing instead his new start with Oakland. He makes an exception to note one aspect of his Buffalo experience.
An important thing survived it.
RAIDERS
“I never lost my love for the game,” Manuel said this month. “At the end of the day, I grew up playing this game. I grew up playing basketball and baseball as well. I never lost the love or zeal for the game. I think I might have lost the love for the outside portion that came along with it. People always having something to say, negative or positive, I didn’t like all of that.
“When I was young, I think I held a lot of that onto my chest too much. I don’t know if it was an ego thing where I wanted to prove this or wanted to prove that. But as far as my love for the game, that’s always been the same. That’s always been extremely high.”
Manuel was 23 when drafted. He did not have a quarterbacks coach as a rookie, at least from a classical sense; offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett doubled down to handle the duty. In 2014, the Bills hired Todd Downing, now the Raiders offensive coordinator. The two were familiar, having worked together at the Senior Bowl when Downing was a coach for the Detroit Lions.
Downing had a role in Manuel’s arrival via a one-year contract this March, conversations not only with Manuel directly but during internal discussions.
Here, Manuel found what he hoped.
“It was a fun environment,” Manuel said. “Being around Derek and Coach Downing and also a head coach like (Jack) Del Rio, someone who’s always implementing positivity and wants you to just be yourself and have fun — that gives you a lot of confidence when you having a coaching staff and support staff like that. It makes you enjoy. It makes you want to go out there and make plays for them. As far as my love for the game, that’s always been constant. That never will waver, whether things are good or things are bad.”
Manuel should feel valued with the Raiders.
By all indications, he is. He competed for and earned the top backup quarterback spot this summer. In Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, he entered in the third quarter and led a near-comeback effort following Carr’s exit with a back injury. Manuel received encouragement leading up to a Week 5 start against the Baltimore Ravens and continued support amid feedback in the period that followed.
“He’s, I think, enjoying his time here,” Del Rio said on Wednesday. “Gave us some good, quality snaps when he was called on. I know he’s staying ready if we need to call on him again. Great young man. … I first met him when he was working with my son (Luke, a quarterback at Florida,) at an Elite 11 camp, so I’ve known him for a while. He’s doing a great job. We’re glad to have him.”
Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Gehlkennfl on Twitter.