CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor admitted Wednesday that he packs a large portion of revenge for the Bills in his lunch pail every day.
"Definitely motivated,'' Taylor told NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano and Aditi Kinkhabwala, who broadcast live from Browns minicamp. "Things didn't end the way I would've liked it to in Buffalo. We could possibly see those guys in the playoffs or we could knock those guys out of the playoffs. I would definitely love that. It definitely added motivation and I take it to work with me every day."
Taylor, who went 22-20 with the Bills, was traded to the Browns on March 9th for the No. 65 overall pick at the top of the third round after snapping the Bills' 17-year playoff draught last season. His three-year career there ended on a 10-3 loss to the Jaguars in the divisional round of the playoffs after he had gone 8-6. During the season, he was benched at one point for fifth-round pick Nathan Peterman, who threw five interceptions in the first half against the Chargers before being yanked in favor of Taylor.
Taylor, who was knocked out of that game with a concussion, hoped to return to Buffalo, but they opted not to pay in the $16 million he due this season, including a $6 million roster bonus in March.
Instead, the Bills ended up with two quarterbacks the Browns strongly considered in the past year: former Bengals veteran AJ McCarron and former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, whom the Browns thought about taking No. 1 overall.
The Bills traded up from No. 12 to No. 7 to draft Allen, after the Browns selected Baker Mayfield.
In Cleveland, Taylor is firmly established as the starter ahead of Mayfield, and in Buffalo, Allen is receiving some first-team reps this week.
"As a talent level, he's going to be good for a lot of years and I want to be a part of that when he takes over eventually,''
"[We] took him early in the draft, so that's common sense. He's special, that's for sure."
During his introductory press conference, Taylor admitted that last season in Buffalo was 'trying.
"Every team has its ups and downs, every player has their ups and downs, but it's how you respond through the tough times through a year. Personally, I think I responded well, but ultimately as a team, we were able to respond well and pick ourselves up and take our team and our city to somewhere they have not been in a while. It did not ultimately end the way we wanted it to, which would have been a Super Bowl, but as far as in Buffalo, got off to a good start."