Trent Edwards is not a lock to start at QB for Buffalo this season.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Quarterback Trent Edwards has maintained his hold on the Buffalo Bills starter's job for now. Brian Brohm will get his chance to prove himself this week. And it's Ryan Fitzpatrick's turn to sit.

In other words, nothing's been resolved in the team's off-season-long quarterback competition as Buffalo prepares to play its second preseason game Thursday, facing Indianapolis at Toronto.

And if as coach Chan Gailey has indicated he's got a deadline to award the starting job before the season opener on Sept. 12, he's not there just yet.

"There's no job that's locked in right now," the first-year coach said after practice Tuesday. "All jobs are still open."

Edwards, attempting to reclaim the job he lost to Fitzpatrick midway through last season, opened camp atop Gailey's pecking order and has spent the past three weeks working with the first-team offence. He's preparing to make his second start following an up-and-down outing in a 42-17 loss at Washington last week.

After going 5-of-6 for 44 yards passing on the Bills opening drive to set up a 38-yard field goal, Edwards went 1-of-6 for 14 yards and an interception over the final three series he played.

"I think I just need to continue to grow, continue to compete out there," Edwards said. "I think that's what Chan wants to see, a guy that's taking control of the quarterback position, being assertive."

For Brohm, the game Thursday will be his preseason debut while entering the game as the No. 2. He's expected to get about two quarters of playing time. That's a switch after Brohm sat out last week's game while Fitzpatrick appeared in six series as Edwards' backup.

Rookie seventh-round pick Levi Brown, who's not part of the competition, will serve as the third-stringer as he did against the Redskins.

Gailey established the rotation so Fitzpatrick and Brohm can have a chance to play, as the coach called it, "in a legitimate part of the game," and avoid "mop-up duty."

"Any way he wants to do it is fine," Brohm said. "I just have to go out there with the attitude that any opportunity I have, I've got to make the most of it."

This is the latest in what's becoming a long line of second chances for Brohm, who finished last season as the Bills' third-stringer. Green Bay's 2008 second-round draft pick out of Louisville, Brohm was signed by Buffalo in November off of the Packers practice squad.

He wound up being a castoff after losing the backup job in Green Bay to seventh-round draft pick Matt Flynn. Due to injuries to Edwards and Fitzpatrick, Brohm struggled in making his first career start, going 17-of-29 for 146 yards and two interceptions in a 31-3 loss at Atlanta in December.

"I feel like I'm ready," Brohm said. "I'm not worried about the quarterback race or who's where. I'm just worried about each and every single play and doing what I'm supposed to do."

Brohm is mobile and has a strong arm, but has struggled with his accuracy during training camp. That was evident while Brohm ran a two-minute drill in practice on Monday.

He opened the drive by making a perfect pass up the left sideline, hitting Naaman Roosevelt in stride. Brohm then scrambled up the middle for a five-yard gain before the drive ended with him throwing three straight incompletions.

"He's done a good job in practice and he'll get his shot," Gailey said, assessing Brohm. "He's very smart. He knows where to go with the football. He's got good velocity on the ball. He just needs to work on continual accuracy. That's really been his only issue."

Fitzpatrick hasn't wowed anyone yet, either. Taking over late in the second quarter against Washington, he produced one first down on his first four series before engineering consecutive scoring drives. Fitzpatrick finished 9-for-14 for 61 yards and a touchdown.

There's pressure on Edwards, too. Dating to the start of last preseason, the Bills' first-string offence under Edwards has produced just two field goals in 19 series in six exhibition games (Buffalo played five preseason games last year).

"Personally, I don't believe in moral victories, but I understand," Edwards said. "I feel that's something we need to do. We need to put the ball in the end zone."