Erik James "EJ" Manuel Jr. (born March 19, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, leading them to an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship and Orange Bowl win as a senior. Manuel was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft.
Chosen by the Bills to be their franchise quarterback, Manuel suffered several injuries and saw his on-the-field performance struggle. After starting 10 games while throwing for 1,972 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie, Manuel made just a combined seven starts and threw eight touchdowns over the next three seasons, remaining behind Kyle Orton and Tyrod Taylor on the depth chart. After leaving the Bills, he spent the 2017 season with the Oakland Raiders before sitting out the following season. Manuel signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2019 offseason, but retired before the start of the preseason.
Manuel was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on March 19, 1990. He attended Bayside High School in Virginia Beach, where he played high school football. During his time with the Marlins, Manuel recorded nearly 7,400 yards and 68 touchdowns. He was considered a five-star recruit by Scout, a four-star recruit by Rivals. Manuel was an All-American quarterback in high school.
Manuel enrolled in Florida State University, where he played for coach Bobby Bowden and coach Jimbo Fisher's Florida State Seminoles football teams from 2008 to 2012. While Manuel was a student, he joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Manuel became the second collegiate quarterback to win four straight bowl games, the first being Pat White of West Virginia (2005–2008).
Manuel took over for an injured Christian Ponder as the 4–5 Seminoles were in danger of finishing with a losing record for the first time since Bobby Bowden took over the program. Manuel's first start was a road game against Wake Forest, where he completed 15-of-20 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, leading the Seminoles to a 41–28 victory, who at the time had won three games in a row against Florida State. Manuel struggled in his second game against Maryland but still managed to pull out a victory, making FSU bowl-eligible. Manuel's struggles continued against the dominating Florida Gators, and the mobile quarterback was unable to get into a rhythm as Florida State lost by a score of 37–10.
Florida State entered the Gator Bowl 6–6 and in serious danger of letting legendary coach Bobby Bowden leave with a losing record. Manuel led Florida State to a 33–21 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers and won the Gator Bowl MVP honors.
Manuel started twice in the 2010 season in relief of Christian Ponder, who battled a nagging forearm injury. In his first start against Clemson, Manuel picked up 71 yards on 15 carries. He also led the Seminoles to a victory in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl against South Carolina in relief of Christian Ponder, who was injured in the second quarter of the game.
In the 2011 season, Manuel played in every game besides the loss at Clemson after injuring his shoulder in a loss against Oklahoma the previous week. Manuel finished the season with 2,666 yards passing on a 65% completion rate. He also finished with 18 passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Manuel helped lead the Seminoles to a comeback victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Champs Sports Bowl by throwing for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
In the 2012 season, Manuel led the Seminoles to numerous wins over ACC rivals, an ACC Championship, and an Orange Bowl victory over Northern Illinois for a 12–2 record in his senior season.
Manuel led the Seminoles to a 12-win season for just the third time in program history and the first time since their dominant stretch in the 1990s. As a senior, he threw for the second most yards in team history with 3,392, trailing only Chris Weinke's Heisman Trophy winning season, in which Weinke threw for 4,167 yards. Manuel went 25–6 as a starter, won the first BCS bowl for Florida State since 2000, won five out of six games against intrastate rivals Miami and Florida, and he led the offense to its most prolific season in team history, cleanly surpassing the 1999 National Championship squad with 6,591 yards.
NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks projected Manuel as a top five quarterback heading into the 2013 Draft and compared him to Josh Freeman. While Manuel possessed the blue-chip physical characteristics, work ethic, and leadership qualities necessary to be successful at the NFL level, he was faulted for somewhat inconsistent play at times during his college career.
Manuel was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round (16th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. He was the only quarterback taken in the first round of the draft, of which was seen as especially thin at quarterback; the Bills, who originally drafted eighth and had a great need for a quarterback, even traded down to obtain more picks.
On June 14, 2013, Manuel signed a four-year contract with the Bills with $8.88 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4.85 million evenly spaced out annually ($1.2 million) over the next four years. His salary in 2013 was $1.6 million, $2.0 million in 2014, $2.4 million in 2015, and $2.8 million in 2016.
Manuel underwent an operation on his knee to remove fluid buildup after the second game of the preseason. At the time, it was unsure if he would be ready to start the season-opener. On September 4, head coach Doug Marrone announced at the team meeting that Manuel was confirmed to be the starter for Week 1. During the season opener against the New England Patriots, Manuel completed his first NFL career touchdown to fellow rookie Robert Woods on an 18-yard pass in the narrow 23–21 loss. In the next game against the Carolina Panthers, Manuel engineered his first fourth-quarter comeback. He led a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown march to bring his team back from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter, with seconds left in the game as the Bills narrowly won 24–23. Manuel was voted Pepsi Next NFL Rookie of the Week for his performance.
During a Week 5 37–24 road loss to the Cleveland Browns, Manuel sprained his right lateral collateral ligament, causing him to miss the next five weeks. Manuel had an up-and-down first year, but was given a vote of confidence by Doug Marrone as he was announced to be the starting quarterback for the 2014 season.
Manuel finished his rookie year with 1,972 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions to go along with 53 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games and starts.
During a Week 4 23–17 road loss the Houston Texans, one of Manuel's passes was intercepted by All-Pro defensive end J. J. Watt and returned 80 yards for a touchdown. The next day, Manuel was benched in favor of veteran quarterback Kyle Orton after starting the first four games of the 2014 season and bringing the Bills to a 2–2 record.
Manuel finished his second professional season with 838 passing yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions to go along with 16 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown in five games and four starts. Orton would win seven of the next 12 games, and the Bills finished the season with a 9–7 record, the first time they had posted a winning record in a decade.