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Bills' QBs will remain in spotlight following off day

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have the day off Tuesday before returning to the practice field Wednesday morning.

That will kick off a four-day stretch of practices that will culminate in an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday evening. The Bills will then return to practice Monday for three days of practices before their first preseason game on Aug. 14.

Here's what I'll be watching as the Bills enter the "meat" of their training camp schedule:

1. The quarterbacks. This hasn't changed and won't change until there is some clarity in the Bills' quarterback competition. At the moment, it's tough to say any of the three quarterbacks competing for the starting job in Buffalo would be better than any other team's starter. There is only one other team (the Houston Texans) with a true competition at quarterback and a few other teams (the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns) with some mild intrigue at the position, so it's safe the say the Bills' quarterback situation is as unsettled as any other in the NFL. The Bills will be including some opponent-specific periods for their offense in practice beginning Wednesday, which should give a better sense of how the race between Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor could shake out. This will be the focal point of the team for the foreseeable future.

2. What about Charles Clay? While Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin have both been targeted nearly a dozen times so far in 11-on-11 drills through the first four days of training camp, Clay hasn't seen a single target in roughly 55 pass attempts that I've logged from Bills' quarterbacks to this point. Why? First of all, the Bills are rotating several tight ends with the first-team group, including MarQueis Gray, Chris Gragg, Nick O'Leary and Matthew Mulligan, so Clay hasn't been on the field for a sizable chunk of those 55 attempts. Further, the Bills didn't run a red zone drill until Monday evening's practice. If Clay lives up to his billing (and salary), he'll be a factor as a matchup nightmare in the red zone this season. It's far too early to sound the alarm with Clay, but his quiet camp has still been puzzling.

3. Right tackle reps. There are few starting jobs up for grabs outside of quarterback for the Bills, but right tackle is one of them. Seantrel Henderson saw an increased workload with the first team in Monday's practice and could be making a push against Cyrus Kouandjio, who held down that spot throughout the spring. It's been tough to evaluate their performance in a live practice setting, but the Bills' first preseason game should provide more insight into their play.

4. Monitoring injuries. The Bills have stayed relatively healthy through the first week of training camp, with cornerback Leodis McKelvin's ankle rehab the only significant concern at the moment. Running back Boobie Dixon left Monday's practice early and his condition isn't known, while fullback John Conner should be out the rest of the week with a hamstring injury. Undrafted rookie tight end Clay Burton and undrafted defensive end B.J. Larsen are both out, while tight end Chris Manhertz (active/physically unable to perform) appears closer to a return. Undrafted cornerback Cam Thomas (active/PUP) and kicker Dan Carpenter (active/non-football injury) remain out, but I don't sense there is concern about Carpenter's availability for the regular season.