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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Derek Anderson will be the quarterback for the Buffalo Bills Sunday against the Colts of Indianapolis, coach Sean McDermott announced Wednesday.
"Derek is a guy I know well in Carolina," McDermott said. "He brings his leadership experience and presence and he worked hard last week, a week and a half, to upgrade."
McDermott said rookie quarterback Josh Allen had a sprained elbow and that he would not be playing Sunday at the Colts. Sources told ESPN's Diana Russini that there was a problem with Allen that will be missing for several weeks.
According to Allen McDermott, Allen, the number 7 choice in the April project, has no intention of undergoing surgery after receiving a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews.
"The diagnosis was the same as the first opinion," McDermott said. "Everyone is on the same page with what it is and how we need to move forward, we will be careful and calculated with that."
McDermott's decision to launch Anderson came after Nathan Peterman, who had been the Bills' main replacement since opening at the start of the season, made two interceptions in the final minutes of Sunday's game.
In seven career appearances, Peterman made 10 interceptions in 82 pass attempts.
"That's still part of the assessment," McDermott said of Peterman's performance. "But one element, not every element – I think that's the right decision for our football team right now."
McDermott said he was not afraid of losing the locker room when he chose to relaunch Peterman.
"I trust a lot of respect for our locker room," McDermott said. "So with that, I will always do what I think is good for the football team."
Allen was injured by linebacker Whitney Mercilus, a Houston Texan, after posting a pass in the third quarter of a 20-13 defeat on Sunday. McDermott said he had challenged the success and that he had "dealt with the powers in place" in the NFL.
"I'm not going to go beyond that," McDermott said. "I learned the lesson from Mike Tomlin."
Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers' coach, was fined $ 25,000 by the NFL last week for criticizing officials.
Anderson, 35, signed last week with the Bills after spending seven seasons as Carolina Panthers backup quarterback. He played seven games in the 2009 season with the Cleveland Browns under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who is in his first season as offensive offensive coordinator.
"It's partly what has been taken into account in the decision to make sure it's able to get updated," McDermott said. "If he was a quarterback who did not know the system, it would have been terribly difficult to get in tune in a short time."
McDermott said that the team's training staff is comfortable with Anderson's fitness after spending all the training camp, the pre-season and the first five weeks of the regular season off the football.
Anderson is 20-27 in 47 career starts for the Panthers, Browns and Arizona Cardinals. He completed 53.5% of his passes starting for 52 touchdowns, 50 interceptions and a score of 71.0.
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