The Buffalo Bills' decision on Tyrod Taylor's future sits less than three weeks away. The Bills brass will have to choose whether to pick up the $27 million option bonus by March 11 or cut ties with the quarterback.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that it appears there is a better chance the Bills keep the quarterback than release him.
While there are faults in Taylor's play -- i.e. some coaching frustrations with the QB's inability to consistently target the entire field, particularly over the middle -- the lack of other options could keep him in Buffalo. Tony Romo likely wouldn't want to play for a rebuilding team, Jay Cutler is a coach killer, Nick Foles is painful to watch, the draft is roundly criticized for its lack of first-round talent at the position, and the Bills have no credible in-house candidate to take over this year.
Rapoport previously reported that the Bills and Taylor could re-do his contract to smooth out some of the salary-cap issues without the QB taking a pay cut.
One point of interest in Taylor's timeline is his recovery from groin surgery last month. If the team were to decide to move on, he'd have to pass a physical.
Taylor's recovery is going as expected and he's healthy, a source informed of the situation told Rapoport. In addition, a Bills team source told ESPN that the quarterback has been "medically cleared." The citation that it's from a team source, (as opposed to a representative of Taylor) is notable in this case. When Taylor underwent surgery, the team sent out a statement saying the quarterback "elected to have surgery." Now the team appears to be claiming he's healthy, which could set up a battle if Buffalo decides to move on.
Of course, if the Bills keep Taylor, as Rapoport said is more likely at this stage, that whole paragraph becomes moot.
While other quarterback situations could linger into the summer months, we'll know whether the Bills are committed to Taylor before St. Patrick's Day.
Oh, hey, look, it's almost St. Patrick's Day.
