When the Buffalo Bills were able to begin recruiting an...

When the Buffalo Bills were able to begin recruiting and negotiating contracts with free agents on the market, head coach Chan Gailey made sure he gave it to quarterback Tyler Thigpen straight from the beginning.

“When I called Tyler I told him exactly the situation,” said Gailey. ”Ryan (Fitzpatrick) is the starter and there’s no question about that. You can compete and work and see how close you can get and that’ll be good, but Ryan is the starter.”

Thigpen obviously accepted those terms for the 2011 season, but he’s signed beyond that, so it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds beyond this fall. Thigpen looked particularly sharp on Friday as his accuracy was pretty consistent and his decision making was even better.

Thigpen and Gailey have some history, but as long as Fitzpatrick doesn't fall on his face he should remain Buffalo's starter. Because of the presence of Gailey, Fitzpatrick is a QB2 to watch in 2011.