Falcons backup quarterback Sean Renfree had to beat out two veteran quarterbacks last season.
His play was good enough for the Falcons to release T.J. Yates and Rex Grossman.
With Matt Schaub’s sparkling showing in the exhibition opener against Washington, Renfree has to play well enough to convince the Falcons to carry three quarterbacks or get noticed from teams around the league with depth issues at the key position.
He set for his role against the Cleveland Browns at 8 p.m. Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“The approach is the same that’s its been every year for me,” Renfree said. “You just come out here and compete no matter what the situation is. You just go and practice as hard as you can, play as hard as you can in these (exhibition) season games and really just let your play speak for itself. That’s been my approach the last three years and going into this year as well.”
Renfree was selected in the seventh-round (249th overall) of the 2013 draft. He has spent three seasons with the Falcons, including two on the roster and on on injured reserve. He was active in 2014, but didn’t play in any games. Last season, he played in two games, completing 3 of 7 passes for 11 yards.
Renfree knows he could be auditioning for the other 31 teams.
“Sure,” Renfree said. “That’s the case for every spot. Guys who are said to be starters here know that everybody else is competing for a spot on this team and they’ve said all the time that you are competing for other spots as well.”
Renfree plans to let his play do his talking
“I’m not worried about all of that,” Renfree said. “All I’m worried about is how I do every single day. I’m worried about today and competing at the highest level today.”
Renfree complete 5 of 9 passes for 101 yards and had a quarterback rating of 95.1 against Washington. He had a nice 48-yard completion to wide receiver Eric Weems.
“I thought we did some good things in the other series,” Renfree said. “Obviously, you’d like to go down there and score touchdowns. We had a field goal, which was good, but we have to do a better job of finishing drives.”
Renfree is slated to get some action against the Browns. He won’t see as much time against the Dolphins in the third game, but should see substantial playing time in the fourth exhibition game.
“I think we’ve had a great camp so far,” Renfree said. “The guys are really picking up the offense well, especially the young guys. I think we are making strides in that area. We are looking forward to finishing out these last three (exhibition) season games.”
