Dennis Dixon Dennis Lee Dixon , Jr . ( born January 11 , 1985 ) is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft . He played college football at the University of Oregon . Dixon had a short pro baseball career , playing for the GCL Braves and the Danville Braves in 2007 . He was a member of the Baltimore Ravens practice squad during the 2012 season . Dixon signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in February of 2013 , but was cut prior to the season . Early years . Dixon was the starting quarterback for San Leandro High School ' s football team beginning his sophomore year . In his senior season of 2002 , Dixon threw for 2 , 426 yards and 30 touchdown s , leading his team to a 12 - 1 season . Dixon completed his high school career with 5 , 951 yards and 79 touchdowns , guiding San Leandro to a 36 - 3 record , with his only losses coming in three straight California North Coast Section 4A championship games to perennial powerhouse De La Salle . Dixon was a consensus 4 - star recruit , and was ranked among the top passing and rushing quarterbacks in the nation . He eventually decided to attend the University of Oregon , stating that " I am going to Oregon with only one purpose , and that is to win a national championship . " Dixon was also a highly recruited baseball player , and was initially drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 20th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft . College career . Dixon opted to grayshirt ( attend school part - time and retain eligibility ) for the 2003 season and played his freshman season in 2004 behind Kellen Clemens . He appeared in six games , passing for 73 and rushing for 40 yards . In his sophomore season of 2005 , he was expected to play primarily in a backup role during Clemens ' s senior season . However , against Arizona , Clemens broke his ankle , and Dixon came into the game , though he later left with a concussion . With Clemens out for the season , Dixon split time with fellow sophomore QB Brady Leaf and guided the Ducks to four regular season wins and a second place finish in the Pac - 10 , before dropping a 17 - 14 loss in the Holiday Bowl against Oklahoma . Prior to his junior season in 2006 , Dixon was named full - time starter by head coach Mike Bellotti . He led the Ducks to a 4 - 0 start , including a 34 - 33 comeback victory over the Oklahoma Sooners . After a win over Arizona State , the Ducks lost 48 - 24 to Cal before Dixon ' s hometown crowd . After being benched in favor of Brady Leaf , Oregon went on to lose three of their four final games and finished with a 7 - 6 record . Despite his shortened season , Dixon still finished the season fourth in the conference in total offense ( 219 . 3 yards per game ) . Dixon was named the league ’ s second - team academic all - conference quarterback . In June 2007 , he graduated from Oregon with a degree in sociology and a 3 . 27 grade point average . In 2007 , Bellotti again named Dixon , now a senior , the starter prior to the season . The season started off quickly for Dixon against Houston , in which Dixon accumulated 141 yards rushing , the most ever by an Oregon quarterback . The following week against Michigan , Dixon threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for another , generating 368 yards of total offense . Dixon was named Pac - 10 Offensive Player of the Week and " USA Today " National Player of the Week . In the next two games , he led the Ducks to big wins over Fresno State ( where he threw for two touchdowns and ran for another ) , and Stanford ( where he completed 27 of 36 passes for 367 yards and 4 touchdowns and ran for another ) . Against Cal , Dixon threw his first 2 interceptions of the season , but led the Ducks down the field in the final minute for a potential tying score before Cameron Colvin fumbled the ball through the end zone in the final seconds for Oregon ' s first loss of the season . Wins in the following weeks over Pac - 10 powers USC and Arizona State pushed Oregon to a # 2 ranking in the BCS poll and first place in the Pac - 10 . During the Arizona State game , he left the game with a knee injury , but was cleared to play two weeks later against Arizona . In the first quarter of that game , he ran 39 yards for a touchdown , but a few plays later , his left knee buckled and he left the game because of the injury , and the Ducks went on to lose 34 - 24 . It was then revealed that Dixon had torn the ACL in his left knee against Arizona State and aggravated it against Arizona . In the last game of the season against arch rival Oregon State , they lost and the Beavers broke the streak of the last 10 years in which the home team had always won . Without Dixon , and following an injury to backup Brady Leaf as well as a long list of injuries to the entire Duck team , the Ducks lost the last two games of the season , but went on to defeat South Florida 56 - 21 in the 2007 Sun Bowl as Dixon watched from the sideline and continued to cheer on his team . After undergoing surgery to repair his torn ACL , Dixon walked with no apparent limp at the NFL Combine headquarters in Indianapolis in February . Dixon was unable to perform any Combine drills , but worked out at Oregon ' s Pro Day and held impressive individual workouts later . Baseball career . Following his junior year at Oregon , Dixon was picked by the Atlanta Braves in the fifth round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft . Dixon hit only . 176 in 74 at bats with two Atlanta Braves rookie league teams , and returned to Oregon for his senior football season in 2007 . Professional career . Pittsburgh Steelers . In the 2008 NFL Draft , Dixon was taken in the 5th round ( 156th overall ) by the Pittsburgh Steelers . It was speculated that he could be used in the manner that the Steelers used Antwaan Randle - El ( a college quarterback turned NFL receiver ) . Dennis passed for a combined 12 - for - 24 in passing attempts in two 2008 preseason games , in addition , he ran for a 47 - yard touchdown against the Buffalo Bills . On December 28 , 2008 , Dixon completed his first official NFL pass to Hines Ward — the reception was Ward ' s 800th . Dixon made his first career start on November 29 , 2009 against the Baltimore Ravens after injuries suffered by Roethlisberger and Charlie Batch a week earlier moved him up the depth chart . In the game , the Steelers went on to lose 20 - 17 in overtime . Dixon finished with 12 completions out of 26 passes , for 145 yards , with one touchdown and one interception and also ran for 27 yards on three carries , including one run for a touchdown . However , his one interception was in the overtime period , allowing the Baltimore Ravens to kick a field goal for the winning score . Dixon wore the number 2 during his first two seasons with the Steelers , but after the trade of Santonio Holmes , Dixon took number 10 , his college number . With Roethlisberger being suspended for four games to start the 2010 season , Byron Leftwich was named the Steelers ' starter . Even though Dixon threw two interceptions in his only preseason start , a serious knee injury to Leftwich during the preseason finale led to Dixon being named the opening day starter . After winning against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 , Dixon tore his meniscus while playing against the Tennessee Titans the following week . He was put on Injured Reserve on October 13 . Baltimore Ravens . On September 2 , 2012 , the Baltimore Ravens signed Dixon to their practice squad . He was cut from the squad November 7 , 2012 , and was re - signed to the practice squad again on November 13 , 2012 . He was the practice squad QB when the Ravens won the Super Bowl and earned a ring . Philadelphia Eagles . Dixon signed a two - year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on February 14 , 2013 . The move reunited him with new head coach Chip Kelly , who was the offensive coordinator at Oregon during Dixon ' s senior year in 2007 . Dixon was released during final cuts on August 30 as the Eagles went with three quarterbacks for 2013 : starter Michael Vick , back - up Nick Foles , and rookie Matt Barkley . Buffalo Bills . On October 8 , 2013 , Dixon was signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad , following an injury to starting quarterback E . J . Manuel . Career Stats . < div style = " overflow : auto " >