A day after he was released once again by the Colts, quarterback Josh Johnson has found a new NFL home. The Bills have signed the veteran signal-caller, cutting kicker Billy Cundiff to create room on the roster, the team announced today in a press release.
Johnson served as the Colts’ backup quarterback for the team’s last two games, with Andrew Luck sidelined due to a shoulder injury, and it’s fair to wonder if he’ll play the same role in Buffalo. Head coach Rex Ryan acknowledged after his team’s game this past weekend that Tyrod Taylor was banged up — E.J. Manuel had been the only other QB on the roster, so if Taylor is unable to play in Week 6, Johnson could back up Manuel for the Bills.
As for Cundiff, he’ll become a free agent again, just a week after joining the Bills. As Mike Rodak of ESPN.com wrote this morning, Cundiff appeared to do a good job in his role as a kickoff specialist this week, though Ryan didn’t exactly shower him with praise.
“He did OK, but he probably wishes he had worked on his kickoffs maybe a little more,” Ryan said. “But he did a … it wasn’t probably his best effort. But he was out there.”
Cundiff had been somewhat expendable, since he wasn’t the only kicker on the Bills’ roster — if the club doesn’t re-add Cundiff or sign another kicker before its next game, Dan Carpenter figures to handle kickoffs, along with his field goal and extra point duties.
With the Bengals next up on the schedule, you’d have to think this is as much about gathering info on Hue Jackson’s scheme as it is about having insurance at QB.