Buffalo Bills: Is the Tyrod Taylor Era Nearing Its End?

In the wake of his disappointing performance last Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been bombarded with questions about his future in Buffalo. We take a look here whether he should remain a Bill past this season.

Whether Tyrod Taylor likes it or not, speculation regarding his future as the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills is only going to increase from here on out. There are only four regular season games remaining as the Bills’ slim playoff chances continue to dwindle, and the front office will have to decide in the offseason whether or not to pick up a $27.5 million team option on Taylor’s contract.

According to ESPN’s Mike Rodak, Buffalo’s starting QB appeared to be visibly frustrated talking to the media on Wednesday:

When asked by reporters specifically about his looming contract option, Taylor deflected, only wanting to talk about this week’s game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Oblivious or not — he says he stays away from social media nor watches television —Taylor doesn’t seem to understand why these sorts of conversations are arising, but in truth, he has no one to blame for them but himself.

As the leader of a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 17 seasons and hasn’t had a franchise signal-caller in more than 20 years, Taylor only had to be good, not great; but unfortunately, it’s been pretty hard to argue that his tenure in Buffalo has been anything better than subpar at best.

Take last Sunday’s loss for instance. The Bills’ defense surrendered 29 points to the Raiders in the second half, after only allowing nine in the first 30 minutes. Does Taylor deserve the majority of the blame for the game? It’s pretty hard to argue that he shouldn’t.

The QB started off hot, completing eight of nine first quarter passes for 102 yards and commanding his team to an impressive 24-9 lead over the Raiders in the third quarter. However, in what seemed like a blink of an eye, the Bills collapsed losing 38-24, highlighted by a complete disappearing act from their pivot. Following the first quarter, Taylor was just 10-of-26 for 89 yards passing, while adding two turnovers.

As horrendous as he was in Oakland, that performance is all too familiar to Bills fans. It’s just the latest in a series of disappointing outings the sixth-year pro has had since arriving in Buffalo during the 2015 offseason.

Understandably, many fans may want the club to move on from Taylor at season’s end and that makes a lot of sense given the financial stakes involved if he remains on the roster past March 4th 2017 — the date by which the Bills have to decide if they will pick up his option — but that is a scary notion. As poor as the 27-year-old has performed, the Bills don’t have a better alternative in sight.

With a current record of 6-6, which sits them at 19th overall in the league standings, the Bills will probably not finish with a favorable draft slot to have a chance to select one of the three highly-touted incoming college quarterbacks in the 2017 draft.

We know soon-to-be free agent EJ Manuel is not the answer. We’re unsure about rookie Cardale Jones. And there doesn’t seem to be a backup in the league that’s overwhelmingly ready to transition into a starter.

Even a blockbuster trade does not seem possible. The Bills don’t have the pieces needed to lure Tony Romo away from the Dallas Cowboys or Jay Cutler from the Chicago Bears, without losing the players they need to remain competitive anyway; although, the latter may not be much of an upgrade at all.

Simply put, if the Bills do decide Taylor is not worth that kind of dough, then a complete overhaul is needed in 2017; one that includes a new starting quarterback, head coach and general manager. But how do sell your fan base on rebuilding, when it has appeared that you’ve been doing so already for the better part of 20 years?

Either way, Bills fans should brace themselves for complete uncertainty heading into 2017.

Next: Is Percy Harvin's Career Over?

How do you feel about Taylor’s play this season? Do you think it’s fair to bring up his contract situation right now, or is too early to be worrying about that with the Bills still in the playoff hunt? Are you in favor of him receiving $27.5 million to lead the Bills next season? Let us know in the comments section below.