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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Rookie quarterback EJ Manuel took a big step forward in the competition to win the Buffalo Bills starting job after the team released veteran Tarvaris Jackson on Monday. The move was announced by the team in a one-sentence release. And it came a day before the Bills open a three-day mandatory minicamp -- the teams final sessions before the start of training camp next month. The timing of the decision immediately frees up additional practice time for Manuel to further his development and become comfortable running the offence under rookie coach Doug Marrone. Selected 16th overall out of Florida State, Manuel was the only quarterback taken in the first round of the draft. Jacksons departure leaves Manuel competing with Kevin Kolb, a sixth-year player the Bills signed in free agency in April. Kolb and Jackson had mostly evenly split practice time with the first-team offence during the Bills 10 voluntary spring minicamps. Kolb appeared to have a better grasp of the offence. Marrone had indicated two weeks ago that he wanted to increase Manuels practice time. In the end, Jackson never received a shot in Buffalo after being acquired by the Bills in a trade with Seattle in August. The seventh-year player spent all of last season as Buffalos third-string quarterback. Jackson then signed a one-year contract to return to Buffalo in February, believing he would have an opportunity to compete for a starting job. That chance hardly materialized, and his release is not regarded as a surprise. Manuel is being groomed to take over the starting job sooner than later. And the Bills targeted Kolb in free agency, believing he could serve as a temporary stop-gap until Manuels ready. Kolb has shown flashes of success in going 9-12 as a starter with Philadelphia and Arizona, but his career has been hampered by a series of injuries. For Jackson, this marks the second consecutive off-season during which hes been the odd-man out in a three-way quarterback competition. Jackson was deemed expendable by the Seahawks last summer after rookie Russell Wilson secured the starting job ahead of Jackson and free-agent addition Matt Flynn. The Seahawks advanced to the NFC divisional round with Wilson under centre, losing to Atlanta, 30-28. Jackson acknowledged last month that the odds might be stacked against him in Buffalo. "They invest a lot in the players in the first round," Jackson said, referring to Manuel. "I know how it goes. I just come out here and do my best. And sometimes, in certain situations, your best might not be good enough." Jackson was selected in the second round of the 2006 draft by Minnesota. The Alabama State product has appeared in 51 games, and has starting experience with both the Vikings and Seahawks. Jacksons best season came in 2011, his one and only year with Seattle. 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The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger.Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop says A-League clubs may still find it difficult to sign high-profile international stars even with the new guest-player slot.FFA recently introduced a full-season guest player role tailor-made to help Melbourne City sign Socceroos veteran Tim Cahill.However Gallop warned clubs will still be hard-pressed to lure big, marketable names to Australia as they struggle to balance star power with a desire to win games - all in a salary-cap system.Its always tough, Gallop said on Monday after announcing Hyundais four-year A-League sponsorship extension.Theres a big expectation about big-name stars, but football coaches want to win games so theres always a balance of how they approach that.Weve loosened the rules, if you like, around the full-season guest capacity of clubs in that space.But we dont necessarily think its easy to get big-name players.There are leagues overseas offering a lot of money and we have to be conscious that we operate in largely a salary-cap environment, an environment where private investors are putting their hand in their own pocket.The guest player spot - essentially a third marquee player who meets FFAs key commercial metrics - has increased conjecture CCahill is set to join City as the new face of the A-League.ddddddddddddGallop met with Cahills management the week before last but on Monday said there were no fresh developments, only reiterating Australias all-time leading goalscorer would provide a valuable boost.His comments came as the leagues first and only naming-rights sponsor Hyundai re-committed until the end of the 2019-20 season.The partnership will also extend to a 15th season, expanding to include rights to the Socceroos, Matildas and W-League.The new four-year deal, which Gallop said was worth millions of dollars and represented a significant uplift on the last, does not include incentives for expansion.But he said that did not necessarily rule out more teams before 2019-20.Gallop expected some clubs to take advantage of a change in regulations allowing them to sign with rival car manufacturers in deals upwards of about $500,000.City started the trend by joining forces with Nissan this month.Obviously not everyone will go into that space, he said.But I think we will see the bigger clubs with that kind of sponsorship in upcoming seasons. 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