Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel suffered an LCL sprain in his right knee that will not require surgery.
"We think it will be a few weeks," coach Doug Marrone said Friday about how long the rookie could be out.
Marrone declined to give a timetable for Manuel's return, saying that further evaluation over the next week was necessary to gauge the progress. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports that the timetable on Manuel's knee injury is about six weeks. If Manuel heals quickly he could be back in four weeks.
Manuel was knocked out in the third quarter of Thursday night's 37-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns on a hit to his knee. He originally was diagnosed with a sprained knee. Bills teammates were not happy about the Browns' reaction to the hit that caused the injury.
Ultimately, the Bills were fortunate that Manuel will not miss the remainder of the season. The Browns weren't so lucky with their injured quarterback, Brian Hoyer, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Thursday.
Manuel started the season after missing most of the preseason with an injured left knee and has progressed each start. Any time Manuel misses is a setback, but getting him back for a stretch run is a positive.
Marrone said the Bills are in the process of evaluating the quarterback position and will look to add one from "outside the organization" in the coming week. (Josh Freeman, anyone?) Undrafted QB Jeff Tueldid not look ready for the spotlight after taking over for Manuel on Thursday. Marrone added that it was "not a stretch" that a new quarterback could start when the Bills take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6. Rapoport later reported that the Bills are keeping all of their options open.
In other Bills injury news, Marrone said wide receiver Steve Johnson suffered a lumbar strain and is not expected to miss time.
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