Buffalo Bills' Fred Jackson has urged the club's running backs to perform in the absence of rookie quarterback EJ Manuel.

Manuel, a rookie who was expected to compete with Kevin Kolb for the starting jersey in 2013, will miss the rest of pre-season through injury.

"He's a guy that can make plays for us," Jackson told the Bills' official website. "But we've also always felt we want to make this thing go through us as running backs.

We have all the confidence in the world in Kevin and we'll do whatever we can in that running back room to help make that situation a lot better for everybody in that quarterback room to make it easier for them."

Manuel was the 16th overall pick in the 2013 draft.