Buffalo Bills

3 Signs Tyrod Taylor Will Not be the Quarterback Next Year

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:36 p.m. ET

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Dec 13, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) drops back to pass against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Tyrod Taylor looks to be on his way out of the Buffalo Bills as the starting quarterback. Here’s three clear signs of it.

As the Buffalo Bills season ended, and Rex Ryan was fired before the final game, a lot of questions popped up for the Buffalo Bills. Among those questions were questions about who would be the next head coach, how the team would approach their offseason, and what was to make of this team who yet again failed to make the playoffs.

Tyrod Taylor, the team’s starting quarterback this season, was another hot topic coming into the offseason, and remains as such today. Taylor was given a pretty big contract last offseason, but the deal was structured so that he would get less than $10 million in his first season so the Bills could feel him out and see how they felt about his play, and whether or not he was worth it for the long-term and rest of his contract.

The next year of his contract (which will become guaranteed within a few months, so the pressure to make a decision is looming) increases dramatically, with him slated to make about $30 million this next season if the Bills choose to keep him on.

The details of the contract were talked about by Ian Rapoport for NFL.com.

The questions about whether or not Taylor is the best option still have not been answered, but the team has to make a choice. Do they spend the money and hope that he plays out to be worth his money? Or should the Bills ditch his contract and look elsewhere in the league for someone to be under center?

All signs point to Taylor being gone after this offseason. Here are some of those signs.

Jul 30, 2016; Pittsford, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley looks on from the field after the first session of training camp at St. John Fisher College. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Doug doesn’t want to spend that money

The biggest reason pointing towards Taylor’s departure is the fact that general manager Doug Whaley is in the organization, and appears to be there to stay. Terry Pegula, Bills co-owner, recently endorsed Whaley and gave him his full support. With that in mind, the best thing moving forward for Whaley to be able to figure things out is to cut Taylor.

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Should the Bills keep Taylor, they will owe him $27 million this upcoming season, which will cut into Whaley’s shopping budget significantly for other players, which is a big deal given the amount of players that the Bills have becoming free agents this year.

While Whaley likely has nothing against Taylor personally, the NFL is a business, and to make for a balance of talent, the Bills could very well decide that they’re better off spending that a Taylor money elsewhere.

The Bills inked a deal with Taylor last offseason, and in the short term, it was a very good deal for the Bills. The Bills signed on to pay out just under $10 million this season, giving them a year to evaluate his play and see what they were ultimately willing to pay out for him.

If they decided he was worth it, however, they would have to pay out nearly $30 million in this next season alone. With the way this past season ended, there are a ton of question marks as far as the Bills are concerned, and Taylor’s long-term play and effectiveness is one of them.

There is risk and reward with all sports money situations. With Taylor, the risk is pretty high, and the reward is incredibly unknown. Everything about the textbook way of doing things indicates that it’s smart from a managerial standpoint to get Taylor’s contract off of the books and spend that money on someone who has proven more.

Eventually, the Bills will have to invest in their man under center, but it doesn’t seem like Tyrod has completely proven himself worthy of that investment.

Nov 2, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott stands on the field prior to the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Bank of America Stadium. Carolina defeated Indianapolis 29-26 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

New coach, new QB

If we’ve learned anything about the Bills in the last decade or so, it’s that the Bills often introduce a new starting a quarterback with a new coach. Four times since the year 2000 in seasons where a coach was in his first year with the Bills, the team’s top passer changed from the player that it was the season before.

In some instances, lining up a new coach with a new quarterback makes a lot of sense. With a new person leading the team from a coaching standpoint, you might want to reset the offense and have a new face under center leading the drives, allowing the two areas to really grow together as one.

At the same time, the Bills have done the switches so often that fans are ironically getting impatient with the team’s restlessness.

New head coach Sean McDermott was hired on Wednesday, and as a defensively minded coach, it’s not clear what his plans are with the offense. Without a doubt, McDermott will delegate a lot of the offensive decisions to a coordinator — that’s a hire that has yet to occur for the Bills — but the big decisions will still, at the very least, come through McDermott before a final word is put out.

Since he hasn’t been around the Bills officially for very long yet, it’s unlikely that McDermott has formed a solid opinion on what to do with the contract situation in Taylor. Some might be confused as to why a new coach matters with the reports of Whaley still remaining in full control of the 53-man roster. Whaley may have the final say, but to act as if McDermott’s input is not taken into account when making big roster decisions would be naive.

McDermott still has a fair amount of power in the final decisions that are made, it’s just that he doesn’t have the ability to completely say yes or no to anything.

If McDermott feels that the right move to start his time with the Bills is to start with a new quarterback, the team (and Whaley, most importantly) will likely take that into serious consideration, even if they were considering keeping Taylor.

Oct 23, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; A general view of a Buffalo Bills helmet on the field before the game between the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

More things on the shopping list

Although figuring out the quarterback situation is huge for any team looking to win games — which the Bills have said they want to do — the Bills have some other players and positions they need to figure out what to do with this offseason as well.

The team has 24 players who will become free agents in just a few months.

With that in mind, those 24 open slots may actually be even more important than Taylor’s contract. Sticking with the idea that a new coach severely impacts Taylor’s future with the team, with that coach being defensively minded, there’s a fair chance that he’s going to want to go out and find some solid defensive players — on top of the players already in Buffalo — to fit in his scheme that is a bit different than what Rex Ryan ran with the Buffalo Bills in his time with the team.

14 of the 24 free agents are defensive players, with five of those players being linebackers.

If the team were to choose to not pick up Taylor’s $27 million option for next year, that increases their budget in other areas — of course, depending on how much they do end up spending on a quarterback to replace Taylor. That spending money being increased could allow McDermott and Whaley to figure out which defensive players are best to pursue for the style of defense McDermott wants to run.