Sean McDermott is non–comittal about the UB QB’s prospect.
By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
Buffalo Bills rookie minicamp is underway and of the storylines surrounding the event, one of the biggest is quarterback Tyree Jackson.
The local product from the University at Buffalo was a surprising signing of the team when he went undrafted at the 2019 NFL draft for a multitude of reasons. For one, most expected he’d get drafted. Another, why did the Bills sign him even?
That became clearer this week when veteran QB Derek Anderson retired. Without “DA” in the fold, Jackson has a clear path to the final 53-man roster in August.
Or does he?
When asked about Jackson’s future potential on Friday in Orchard Park ahead of the start of the team’s rookie minicamp, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott sounded more like like Patriots coach Bill Belichick when discussing Jackson and was non-committal about the situation.
“We haven’t even had our first practice yet,” McDermott said, falling just short of saying “it’s May” as Belichick likely would have.
But McDermott did get to some deeper context as well, in a more Process way and less Belichick-like way.
“He’s a talented young man who’s just got through his first meetings and walk-through and is about to get his first professional practice under his belt. We’re anxious to see what he can do, the talent is certainly there in a lot of different ways. But there’s also a process involved of taking it one practice at a time,” McDermott added.
Regardless, Jackson certainly is an appealing option to take that No. 3 role in Buffalo’s QB room. Josh Allen in the undoubted No. 1, while a veteran presence in Matt Barkley worked out well in 2018 as QB2. But Barkley isn’t an “Allen.” Jackson is. Both are large, athletic, big-armed quarterbacks.
If Jackson can develop into a strong backup option to Allen in time, it could be a desired piece for Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The thought is that he might not have to change his game plan as much if Allen was knocked out of the lineup in the future with Jackson behind him.