Harper headed to Buffalo

OK, so former Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper might be out in the cold … if he impresses his prospective employer this weekend.

Harper said Tuesday that he is headed to Buffalo this weekend for a tryout with the Bills as an undrafted free agent. He’ll be one of two quarterbacks in the camp, but I haven’t been able to figure out the identity of the other one.

“It was disappointing (not to get drafted), but I have an opportunity, and I can’t ask for more than that,” Harper said.

By the way, Harper refutes the notion that he hung up on me yesterday, saying he was experiencing cell phone problems and was trying to communicate with his agent, Jimmy Sexton. Regardless of the semantics …

At first glance, I think Harper might have fallen into a favorable situation, relative to where a number of the other UFA quarterbacks landed. Buffalo’s No. 3 quarterback job hardly appears cemented.

With last year’s backup, former 1st-rounder J.P. Losman, gone to free agency, the Bills have Trent Edwards locked in as the starter, and 5th-year journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick is clearly destined to be the No. 2.

That leaves the No. 3/emergency spot — generally a developmental position — up for grabs.

Buffalo currently has two other QBs on the roster: 2nd-year pro Matt Baker, who, if I recall accurately, was a backup at North Carolina; and 28-year-old Gibran Hamdan, a 3rd-year guy out of Indiana I’ve never heard of.

So I think Harper is correct — there’s certainly an opportunity.

I don’t know which party preferred Harper remain a free agent instead of signing — maybe Harper didn’t have offers, or it’s just as likely Sexton advised Harper to remain a free agent so he could have flexibility or perhaps leverage if he impresses Buffalo’s decision-makers. But this figures to be an important weekend for his future prospects.