During practice on Sunday afternoon, Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman found himself taking reps with the second-team offense for the first time in his young career. Typically Peterman would take the third-team reps behind veteran quarterback TJ Yates.
Peterman had a shaky start to camp, as did all the signal callers, but the rookie has impressed lately. He performed admirably in his first NFL preseason action, completing 13 of his 25 pass attempts for 112 yards and threw the only Bills touchdown of the evening. The thing that really stuck out to his teammates was his calming presence in the huddle and poise beyond his years.
Dez Lewis, the receiver that caught the lone touchdown of the evening, echoed this while talking to Matthew Fairburn of NewYorkUpstate.com.
“Confidence,” Lewis said when discussing what Peterman brought to the table. “I’ve never seen a rookie just come in that confident and that poised. I was talking to him before every play in the huddle and I could just see it in his eyes. He was ready to go. He wasn’t nervous. He didn’t show any signs of nervousness at all.”
It’s just one practice, but don’t be shocked if Peterman’s opportunities with the second team continue, especially after Yates struggled in the preseason opener.