PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Trent Edwards has maintained his hold on the Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback job for now. Brian Brohm will have his chance to prove himself this week. And it's Ryan Fitzpatrick's turn to sit.
In other words, nothing has been resolved in the Bills' offseason-long quarterback competition as they prepare to play their second preseason game Thursday against the Indianapolis Colts in Toronto.
And if Bills coach Chan Gailey has, as he has indicated, a deadline to award the starting job before the Sept. 12 season opener, he's not there just yet.
"There's no job that's locked in right now," the first-year coach said after practice Tuesday. "All jobs are still open."
Edwards, attempting to reclaim the job he lost to Fitzpatrick midway through last season, opened camp atop Gailey's pecking order and has spent the past three weeks working with the first-team offense. He's preparing to make his second start following an up-and-down outing in a 42-17 loss last week at Washington.
After completing 5 of 6 passes for 44 yards on the Bills' opening drive to set up a 38-yard field goal, Edwards went 1 of 6 for 14 yards and an interception in his final three series.
"I think I just need to continue to grow, continue to compete out there," Edwards said. "I think that's what Chan wants to see: a guy that's taking control of the quarterback position, being assertive."
Brohm, No. 2 on Buffalo's depth chart, will make his preseason debut Thursday. He's expected to see about two quarters of playing time. He sat out last week's game while Fitzpatrick appeared in six series as Edwards' backup.
Seventh-round draft pick Levi Brown, who's not in the competition for the starting job, will serve as the third-stringer, as he did against the Redskins.
Gailey established the rotation so Fitzpatrick and Brohm can have a chance to play, as the coach called it, "in a legitimate part of the game," and avoid "mop-up duty."
"Any way he wants to do it is fine," Brohm said. "I just have to go out there with the attitude that any opportunity I have, I've got to make the most of it."
This is the latest in a lengthening line of second chances for Brohm, who finished last season as the Bills' third-stringer. The 2008 second-round pick out of Louisville was signed by the Bills off the Green Bay Packers' practice squad in November.
The Packers let Brohm go after he lost the backup job to seventh-round pick Matt Flynn, and he made his first career start at Atlanta after injuries to Edwards and Fitzpatrick. Brohm struggled, completing 17 of 29 passes for 146 yards and two interceptions in a 31-3 loss.
"I feel like I'm ready," Brohm said. "I'm not worried about the quarterback race or who's where. I'm just worried about each and every single play and doing what I'm supposed to do."
Brohm is mobile and has a strong arm, but he has struggled with his accuracy during training camp. That was evident during a two-minute drill in practice Monday.
Brohm opened the drive with a perfect pass up the left sideline, hitting Naaman Roosevelt in stride, then scrambled up the middle for a 5-yard gain before the drive ended with him throwing three consecutive incompletions.
"(Brohm has) done a good job in practice, and he'll get his shot," Gailey said. "He's very smart. He knows where to go with the football. He's got good velocity on the ball. He just needs to work on continual accuracy. That's really been his only issue."
Fitzpatrick hasn't wowed anyone yet, either. Taking over late in the second quarter against Washington, he produced only one first down on his first four series before engineering consecutive scoring drives. Fitzpatrick finished 9 of 14 for 61 yards and one touchdown.
There's pressure on Edwards, too. Dating to 2009, the Bills' first-string offense under Edwards has produced just two field goals in 19 series in six preseason games.
"Personally, I don't believe in moral victories, but I understand," Edwards said. "I feel that's something we need to do. We need to put the ball in the end zone."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
