Buffalo Bills: Closing the book on the Tyrod Taylor era
The Buffalo Bills officially ended the Tyrod Taylor era, after the starting quarterback was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a draft pick.
In what has been a busy offseason, the Buffalo Bills decided to get in on the action by signing running back Chris Ivory. They were not done there however, as they decided to part ways with quarterback Tyrod Taylor, trading him to the Cleveland Browns.
In return, the Browns will be sending a third-round pick (No. 65 overall) which, as Chris Wesseling of NFL.com writes, gives the Bills five draft picks in the early rounds.
The pressure is now on general manager Brandon Beane to finally solve the team’s need for a franchise quarterback either in the draft, through free agency or by making a trade.
At this point, it would best for the team to find a short-term option as well as draft a quarterback. It would have been the plan if Taylor was still in the mix, but the team could not pass up the chance to get add another solid draft choice.
It also helps that they were able to shed some money for a player they clearly wanted to move on from.
Per source, the Bills and Browns have agreed to finalize the Tyrod Taylor deal before his roster bonus is due. So the Browns are on the hook for that $6 million, and his $10 million base.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 9, 2018
What do the Bills do at QB?
There are options to consider in free agency starting with the Minnesota Vikings trio with Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater and Case Keenum, who are all expected to hit the market.
A.J. McCarron is another possibility after many believed he was Cleveland bound, but now it appears that the door has closed on that. The former Alabama starter has seen limited NFL action with the Cincinnati Bengals.
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | QBrec | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | Lng | Y/A | AY/A | Y/C | Y/G | Rate | QBR | Sk | Yds | NY/A | ANY/A | Sk% | 4QC | GWD | AV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 24 | CIN | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 25 | CIN | qb | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2-1-0 | 79 | 119 | 66.4 | 854 | 6 | 5.0 | 2 | 1.7 | 66 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 10.8 | 122.0 | 97.1 | 12 | 63 | 6.04 | 6.27 | 9.2 | 3 | |||
| 2016 | 26 | CIN | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 27 | CIN | 5 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 50.0 | 66 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 27 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 9.4 | 22.0 | 63.4 | 1 | 9 | 3.80 | 3.80 | 6.7 | 0 | |||||
| Career | 11 | 3 | 2-1-0 | 86 | 133 | 64.7 | 920 | 6 | 4.5 | 2 | 1.5 | 66 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 10.7 | 83.6 | 93.6 | 13 | 72 | 5.81 | 6.01 | 8.9 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/9/2018.
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/9/2018.
It would be a low-risk move to try and bring in McCarron and considering the strong running game he would have to work with.
More from Tip of the Tower
- Cam Phillips making his mark on Toronto Argonauts offence
- Toronto Argonauts: 4 storylines ahead of matchup against Redblacks
- Federico Bernardeschi ready for new challenge with Toronto FC
- Toronto Argonauts overcome Roughriders in entertaining Touchdown Atlantic
- Buffalo Bills: Von Miller drawing inspiration from Bruce Smith
It would be unlikely to expect Kirk Cousins as an option for Buffalo, considering he will want to go to a contender like the Vikings who will have the cap space to get a deal done.
The draft is going to be the popular path for many teams to find an upgrade at quarterback. All eyes will be on Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold who will likely be off the board first, although Baker Mayfield remains in the mix.
ESPN’s Todd McShay wrote in his mock draft that it would be tough to expect any of those prospects being available at 21 or 22. It does not help that there are many teams who need to draft a quarterback before Buffalo.
The obvious option would be to package some picks together and move up, but that all depends on how far up they can get and what the price would be.
If the Bills don’t do anything it would likely mean that Nathan Peterman would take over as the starter, something which did not go so well last season. However, a full offseason would only help him be more prepared to step in if called upon.
Next: What version of Vontae Davis will we see?
What did you make of the Buffalo Bills trading Taylor? What should they do next at quarterback? Let us know in the comments below.