EJ Manuel facts for kids
Manuel in 2024
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | March 19, 1990 Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 237 lb (108 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Bayside (Virginia Beach) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Florida State (2008–2012) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Erik Rodriguez "EJ" Manuel Jr. (born March 19, 1990) is a former professional football player. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). EJ Manuel played college football for the Florida State Seminoles. In his final year, he helped them win an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship and the Orange Bowl. The Buffalo Bills picked him in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft.
The Bills hoped Manuel would be their main quarterback for many years. However, he faced several injuries and struggled on the field. In his first year, he started 10 games, throwing for 1,972 yards and 11 touchdowns. Over the next three seasons, he started only seven games and threw eight touchdowns. He was often a backup player to Kyle Orton and Tyrod Taylor. After leaving the Bills, he played one year with the Oakland Raiders. He then signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 but retired before the season began.
Contents
Early Life and High School Football
EJ Manuel was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia on March 19, 1990. He went to Bayside High School in Virginia Beach. There, he played for the Bayside Marlins high school football team. During his time with the Marlins, Manuel gained almost 7,400 yards and scored 68 touchdowns. He was considered a highly rated quarterback in high school.
College Football Career
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Manuel went to Florida State University. He played for the Florida State Seminoles football team from 2008 to 2012. His coaches were Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher. While at college, he joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Manuel became only the second college quarterback to win four straight bowl games. A bowl game is a special game played at the end of the college football season.
Playing in the 2009 Season
Manuel became the starting quarterback when Christian Ponder was injured. This happened when the Seminoles had a record of 4 wins and 5 losses. His first start was against Wake Forest. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown. He led the Seminoles to a 41–28 win. Manuel helped Florida State become eligible for a bowl game.
Florida State entered the Gator Bowl with a 6–6 record. Manuel led his team to a 33–21 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers. He was named the Gator Bowl MVP (Most Valuable Player).
Playing in the 2010 Season
Manuel started two games in the 2010 season. He filled in for Christian Ponder, who had a forearm injury. In his first start against Clemson, he ran for 71 yards. He also helped the Seminoles win the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl against South Carolina.
Playing in the 2011 Season
In the 2011 season, Manuel played in almost every game. He missed one game after hurting his shoulder. He finished the season with 2,666 passing yards. He completed 65% of his passes. He also had 18 passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He led the Seminoles to a comeback win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Playing in the 2012 Season
In the 2012 season, Manuel led the Seminoles to many wins. They won against several ACC rivals. They also won the ACC Championship. The team then won the Orange Bowl against Northern Illinois. This gave them a great record of 12 wins and 2 losses in his senior year.
Manuel's College Legacy
Manuel led the Seminoles to a 12-win season. This was only the third time in the team's history. During his senior year, he threw for 3,392 yards. This was the second-most yards in team history. Manuel won 25 games and lost 6 as a starter. He also won the first BCS bowl for Florida State since 2000. He led the offense to its best season ever, gaining 6,591 yards.
College Statistics
| Florida State Seminoles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||
| 2009 | 69 | 106 | 65.1 | 817 | 2 | 6 | 124.7 | 44 | 196 | 4.5 | 2 | |||
| 2010 | 65 | 93 | 69.9 | 861 | 4 | 4 | 153.3 | 41 | 170 | 4.1 | 1 | |||
| 2011 | 203 | 311 | 65.3 | 2,666 | 18 | 8 | 151.2 | 110 | 151 | 1.4 | 4 | |||
| 2012 | 263 | 387 | 68.0 | 3,392 | 23 | 10 | 156.0 | 103 | 310 | 3.0 | 4 | |||
| Total | 600 | 897 | 66.9 | 7,736 | 47 | 28 | 150.4 | 298 | 827 | 2.8 | 11 | |||
Professional Football Career
Before the NFL Draft
Experts thought EJ Manuel would be one of the top five quarterbacks in the 2013 NFL Draft. They compared him to another player, Josh Freeman. Manuel had good physical skills, a strong work ethic, and leadership qualities. However, he sometimes played inconsistently in college.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) |
237 lb (108 kg) |
35 in (0.89 m) |
10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
4.65 s | 1.67 s | 2.75 s | 4.21 s | 7.08 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) |
9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
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| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Playing for the Buffalo Bills
2013 NFL Season
The Buffalo Bills picked Manuel as the 16th overall player in the 2013 NFL draft. He was the only quarterback chosen in the first round that year. The Bills really needed a quarterback.
On June 14, 2013, Manuel signed a four-year contract with the Buffalo Bills. On September 4, his coach, Doug Marrone, announced that Manuel would be the starting quarterback for the first game of the season. In that game, Manuel threw his first NFL touchdown pass. It was an 18-yard pass to another rookie, Robert Woods.
On September 15, Manuel led his first fourth-quarter comeback. He led his team on a long drive to score a touchdown. This brought his team back from being behind by six points. The Bills won that game against the Carolina Panthers 24–23. Manuel was named the "Pepsi Next NFL Rookie of the Week" for his great play.
On October 3, Manuel hurt his right knee during a game. This caused him to miss five weeks of his first season. Manuel had a mixed first year. His coach still said he would be the starting quarterback for the 2014 season. In 10 games, Manuel threw for 1,972 yards. He had 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also ran for 186 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns.
2014 NFL Season
On September 28, 2014, in a game against the Houston Texans, one of Manuel's passes was caught by an opposing player, J. J. Watt. Watt ran 80 yards for a touchdown. The next day, Manuel was replaced as the starting quarterback by Kyle Orton. Manuel had started the first four games of the 2014 season. He had led the Bills to a 2–2 record. Manuel finished 2014 with 838 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. His passer rating was 80.3, which was his best.
2015 NFL Season
After the 2014 season, the Bills hired Rex Ryan as their new head coach. Manuel competed with Tyrod Taylor and Matt Cassel for the starting quarterback job. Manuel struggled to win the starting position. He was listed as the third-string quarterback.
Manuel made his first start in over a year in Week 6. He played against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals. He was playing because Tyrod Taylor was injured. Manuel led the Bills to a touchdown on their first drive. He finished the game with 263 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown. The Bills lost the game 34–21.
On October 25, Manuel played against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. He threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns. However, he also had three costly turnovers. Two of these turnovers led directly to scores for the Jaguars. Manuel led the Bills back from being down by 24 points. They even took the lead in the fourth quarter. But Jacksonville scored again and won 34–31. With this loss, Manuel became the first quarterback in NFL history to lose a game in three different countries: the United States, Canada, and England.
2016 NFL Season
On May 2, 2016, the Bills decided not to keep Manuel for the 2017 season. He played only a few times in 2016, often in special trick plays. Since the Bills were not going to make the playoffs, Manuel started the last game of the season. He played because Tyrod Taylor was not active. Manuel completed 9 of 20 passes for 86 yards. He was then replaced by rookie quarterback Cardale Jones in the fourth quarter.
Playing for the Oakland Raiders
On March 20, 2017, Manuel signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders. In Week 4, he played against the Denver Broncos. He came into the game when Derek Carr got hurt. Manuel completed 11 of 17 passes for 106 yards. The Raiders lost the game 16–10. Because Carr was injured, Manuel started the Week 5 game against the Baltimore Ravens. He threw for 159 yards and a touchdown. The Raiders lost 30–17.
On November 19, the Raiders lost to the New England Patriots in Mexico City. With this loss, Manuel became the first quarterback in NFL history to be on a team that lost a game in four different countries. These countries were the United States, Canada, England, and Mexico.
On March 22, 2018, Manuel signed again with the Raiders. However, he was released on September 1, 2018.
Playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and Retirement
On February 22, 2019, Manuel signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.
On May 13, 2019, Manuel announced that he was retiring from playing football. Soon after, he said he would join the ACC Network. There, he would work as a college football analyst, helping to explain games.
NFL Career Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2013 | BUF | 10 | 10 | 180 | 306 | 58.8 | 1,972 | 6.4 | 11 | 9 | 77.7 | 53 | 186 | 3.5 | 2 |
| 2014 | BUF | 5 | 4 | 76 | 131 | 58.0 | 838 | 6.4 | 5 | 3 | 80.3 | 16 | 52 | 3.3 | 1 |
| 2015 | BUF | 7 | 2 | 52 | 84 | 61.9 | 561 | 6.7 | 3 | 3 | 78.5 | 15 | 59 | 3.9 | 1 |
| 2016 | BUF | 6 | 1 | 11 | 26 | 42.3 | 131 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 58.3 | 8 | 22 | 2.8 | 0 |
| 2017 | OAK | 2 | 1 | 24 | 43 | 55.8 | 265 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 72.3 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 |
| Career | 30 | 18 | 343 | 590 | 58.1 | 3,767 | 6.4 | 20 | 16 | 77.5 | 96 | 339 | 3.5 | 4 | |
Buffalo Bills Team Records
- Best rookie passer rating (at least 7 games played): 77.7
Personal Stock Offering
It was reported that Manuel would offer a share of his future earnings. This was part of a new financial plan with a company called Fantex, Inc. He planned to offer 10% of all his future earnings from his brand to Fantex. Fantex would then divide this into shares that could be bought and sold by the public.
In July 2014, Manuel's stock offering was completed. Over 523,000 shares were sold. Each share was valued at $10.
