E.J. Manuel has officially decided to retire rather than compete with another young crop of quarterbacks for a spot on the Kansas City Chiefs.
According to NFL reporter Field Yates, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback E.J. Manuel has decided to officially retire this offseason rather than continue in a competition for a fringe roster spot with the league’s greatest offense.
Manuel, who is only 29-years-old, will officially move on from a career that has been more his attempts to live up his first round billing than any real accomplishments or production.
Manuel was the first round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the much-maligned draft class of 2013, the same draft in which the Chiefs had the first overall pick and selected left tackle Eric Fisher. Despite being picked No. 16 overall in his class, Manuel only started 18 total games in the NFL. In a league that continues to recycle the same old faces at backup roles, it’s hard to believe Manuel didn’t have better opportunities afforded him, but therein lies the disappointment.
Manuel lasted only four seasons in Buffalo where he went 6-11 as a starter. He did, however, have 19 touchdowns against 15 interceptions, a better than expected rate given his overall record. Manuel caught on with the Oakland Raiders for most of the last two years in relief of Derek Carr before the team released him just before the 2018 regular season. He spent last season out of the NFL before the Chiefs signed him to a futures deal this offseason.
With Manuel out of the way, the Chiefs depth chart now has Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne locked in place at No. 1 and 2 respectively at quarterback. From there, it’s a competition with Chase Litton, Tyler Linta, John Lovett and Kyle Shurmur.