ORCHARD PARK — On the day we celebrate America's work force,
Nathan Peterman found out Monday morning that he has a new job: starting quarterback of the
Buffalo Bills.
The team sent out a tweet announcing Sean McDermott’s decision, and the coach will meet with the media at 11:30 a.m. prior to the Bills taking the practice field to begin preparations for Sunday’s regular-season opener at Baltimore.
Peterman was the clear-cut winner of the three-way competition that also included rookie
Josh Allen and free agent acquisition AJ McCarron. So confident are the Bills in Peterman, and Allen’s ability to be the backup, they traded McCarron on Saturday to the Oakland Raiders and received a 2019 fifth-round draft pick in return.
Peterman was Buffalo’s fifth-round draft pick in 2017, and he served most of the season as Tyrod Taylor’s backup, except for two memorable Sundays. The first came in Los Angeles when McDermott pulled a shocking move by benching Taylor in favor of Peterman. At that time, the Bills had a 5-4 record, but their offense was spinning its wheels and McDermott thought a change would stir things up.
Instead, Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half and the Bills were blown out 54-24 by the Chargers as Taylor played the second half.
In December, Taylor was out with an injury, so Peterman got the call once again in the snow globe game at New Era Field against the Colts. However, after throwing a touchdown pass in the blizzard late in the second quarter, Peterman suffered a concussion midway through the third and had to leave the game.
Peterman also played the final few snaps of the Bills’ playoff loss to Jacksonville after Taylor was injured on the last series of the game.
Throughout the spring and summer, Peterman looked comfortable running new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s offense, and once the preseason games he started, that showed up. He completed 33 of 41 passes for 431 yards.