Tyrod Taylor
Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor throws a pass before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
(Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Orchard Park, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills are at a crossroads with quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
By the spring, the Bills have to decide whether they are going to pick up the option on Taylor's contract, which carries more than $30 million in guaranteed money. Last week, the Bills decided to bench Taylor to avoid the injury guarantee in that contract. Meeting with reporters Monday, Taylor was candid about what he thought of that move.
"They made a decision last week to sit me for the last game of the season," Taylor said. "Did I believe that was fair? No I didn't.
"I didn't see where it was fair. The opportunity was taken from me. That's above me. That decision was made. I had to live with it and support my guys."
General manager Doug Whaley had previously said he would wait for the credits to roll on the season before judging Tyrod Taylor. He wanted to see all 16 games. Instead, he pulled the plug early, and Taylor viewed that as a lack of confidence in him moving forward.
"Um, I mean that's fair to say," Taylor said. "That's what it showed. That's what I think it showed. But at the same time, the conversation wasn't detailed enough to know if that was the case or not. Hopefully we can have that conversation this week. Maybe it's today. I'm not sure. We haven't met as a unit yet, nor have I met with the people upstairs, so maybe it will be clear what's the direction moving forward."
Taylor had a brief meeting with Whaley when the decision was made but said he had "no clue why it happened." The two justifications he heard had to do with the talent behind him on the depth chart and the injury clause in his contract.
"I've heard that they wanted to evaluate the young talent that we have in EJ and Cardale," Taylor said. "I've also heard things as far as the injury clause, which I don't really put much behind that because that was the situation all year. Like I said, we'll see what the real decision was."
Taylor is left hanging in the balance. On Wednesday, he is traveling to have a second opinion on a groin injury he played with this season. The injury won't affect the clause in his contract or his free agency. He's not sure what will happen going forward, but he's less than pleased with how everything happened last week.
"Definitely disappointed in how it went down," Taylor said. "It definitely wasn't the best move in my opinion, but in this case my opinion doesn't matter. I traveled this past weekend to support my teammates and EJ and Cardale, the guys I fought so hard with throughout the year. My support for those guys will never go anywhere. As far as how it was handled, there's a business side to this thing. I knew that. I'm not a rookie or anything, so you have to deal with those things as they come."
As for restructuring his contract, Taylor said, "It's too early to tell right now. Maybe that's a possibility down the line, but we'll visit when and if that happens."
At this point, it's fair to wonder about the relationship between Taylor and the Bills and how the benching will impact negotiations.
"Once the conversation is actually explained to me why it was done the way it was, we'll move forward from there," Taylor said. "We'll see what happens. "