Quarterback Volek visits with Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Billy Volek visited with the Bills on Monday, the latest candidate to become Buffalo’s potential quarterback of the future.
Volek is an unrestricted free agent who spent the past four seasons with the Tennessee Titans, including last year when he emerged as Steve McNair’s backup.
Volek did not make himself available to the media following his visit, and the Bills did not comment other than to say that he arrived in Buffalo on Sunday and met with the team’s coaches and management.
The player’s agent Ken Staninger did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press. Volek had visited with several other teams, including Atlanta, Green Bay and Denver, this past month, and the Titans have also expressed interest in re-signing him.
The Bills have committed this offseason to finding — either by trade, free agency or in next month’s draft — a young quarterback to groom to eventually replace veteran starter Drew Bledsoe. Last month, the team expressed interest in acquiring Drew Henson before Houston traded him to Dallas last week.
The Bills maintain their faith in Bledsoe, but he’s coming off the worst season of his 11-year career.
Bledsoe finished last year with 2,860 yards passing with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It was a significant drop off after he set 10 franchise passing records in his first year in Buffalo after being acquired from New England in a trade.
Volek spent most of his first three seasons in Tennessee as the Titans’ third-stringer, before taking over as backup last season. He appeared in seven games last year, including one start, going 44-of-69 for 545 yards passing with four touchdowns and interception.
Volek’s one start, coincidentally, came in a 28-26 win over Buffalo in December, in which he threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. He continued playing in the game despite sustaining a lacerated spleen, which forced him to miss the rest of the season.