Jordan Palmer to sign with Buffalo Bills, per report

ESPN reporter Field Yates is reporting that the Buffalo Bills will be signing veteran quarterback Jordan Palmer.

The Bills are looking to shake up their backup quarterback competition, having watched both Thad Lewis and Jeff Tuel struggle mightily throughout training camp and four preseason games. Palmer, released on Sunday by the Chicago Bears, lost out on that team's backup quarterback job to Jimmy Clausen.

Palmer, 30, is in his eighth season in the NFL. He last appeared in a regular season game in 2010, where he backed up his brother, Carson, as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. He joined the Bears last October after Jay Cutler was injured - he backed up Josh McCown - and in three preseason games this season, completed 21-of-30 passes (70 percent) for 225 yards (7.5 yards per attempt) with one touchdown and one interception.

Tuel has put up similar numbers (29-of-45, 236 yards, two touchdowns, two picks) in four games, but Palmer has been significantly more productive than Lewis (16-of-33, 168 yards, no scores, two picks), who did not play in Saturday's preseason loss to Tampa Bay and does not seem long for the roster. Palmer does not have much playing experience at the NFL level, but he has been in the league longer than all of Buffalo's quarterbacks combined, and at least offers a veteran presence in the room that the team sorely lacked.

Also worth noting: the Bills play the Bears in Week 1.

The signing of Palmer is not yet official, but once it occurs, the Bills will need to release one more player by 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday to remain at the NFL's maximum of 75 players on the active roster.