Bills vs. Bengals 2013: Thaddeus Lewis to start at quarterback

The Buffalo Bills throw a heck of a curveball: the team has announced early Monday morning that quarterback Thaddeus Lewis will be promoted to the active roster from the practice squad, and will start this Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Doug Marrone: "Thad gives us the best chance. We're going to give him an opportunity to see what he has"

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) October 7, 2013

Buffalo acquired Lewis in a preseason trade with the Detroit Lions when injured starter EJ Manuel and veteran Kevin Kolb (now on IR) succumbed to injury. He was released prior to the season, but re-signed to the practice squad, where he has spent the first five games of the season. His start against Cincinnati will be the second of his career; the 6'2", 220-pound Duke product completed 22-of-32 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception with the Cleveland Browns last season.

When Marrone was asked on Friday whether or not Lewis would factor into the starting quarterback race, he bluntly said that the team would be looking for help at the position outside of the organization. Clearly, something changed the team's thought process over the weekend.

Q: How does Thad Lewis factor in to this? When you say you’re looking for a quarterback does that mean outside the organization or is he one that you’d also be looking at?
A: Outside the organization.

The Bills will need to release a player from the 53-man roster to make the transaction complete.

The move seems to contradict a report from late Sunday evening that the Bills will sign quarterback Pat White, who is not practice squad eligible. As early as this morning, reports surfaced that the Bills had asked White to stay in Orchard Park. Unless the team plans on carrying four quarterbacks (including Manuel) on the active roster for the foreseeable future, however, it seems more likely than not that White will leave town unsigned.