Tyrod Taylor did not play much for the Baltimore Ravens, but he is an intriguing athlete who could factor into Buffalo’s quarterback competition. (Photo: Mitch Stringer — USA Today Sports)
BBD Editor: Dan Hope
One week after acquiring Matt Cassel in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo Bills added another veteran quarterback to the roster on Thursday, when they announced the signing of former Baltimore Ravens backup Tyrod Taylor.
A 2011 sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech, Taylor never started a game in four seasons with the Ravens. In limited action, Taylor completed just 19 of 35 passing attempts for 199 yards, with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.
That said, Taylor is just 26 years old and brings intriguing athleticism to the position. He is unlikely to ever be a viable starting quarterback in the NFL, but he at least deserves a shot to compete for the Bills’ starting job, given their lack of a sure No. 1 signal-caller.
Bills coach Rex Ryan, in actually breaking the news of his signing during an interview with SportsNet 590 The Fan this morning, spoke highly of the potential of his new acquisition.
“Tyrod Taylor is a guy that we just picked up that very few people know a whole lot about,” Ryan told 590 The Fan. “I actually tried to trade for this player when I was with the Jets … if he’s not the fastest quarterback in the league, he’s certainly up there with him. He’s got great run skills, and I’m not going to say he’s Russell Wilson, but he’s kind of, he’s got a little of that in him where he’s able to run zone reads and pull the ball down and be effective.”
Realistically, Taylor is a better runner and athlete than he is a pocket passer. He has adequate arm strength, but is not special in that regard, and is undersized for a quarterback at just 6’1″ and 208 pounds.
But while it’s highly unlikely that Taylor will be the quarterback who saves the Bills offense this season, there’s no reason he shouldn’t get a fair crack at competing for the starting job with Cassel and EJ Manuel.
Cassel is the most experienced quarterback of the bunch, having started 71 career games, but the 32-year-old is nothing more than a short-term stopgap at the position. In the past four years, he has not started more than nine games in a single season, and has thrown more interceptions (34) than touchdowns (30) in that span.
The best-case scenario for the Bills remains that in which Manuel, who is just 24 years old and under contract for at least two more years, shows significant development this preseason and wins the starting job outright. In his first two seasons with the team, however, he has done nothing to instill reason for optimism that he will be the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be in 2013. He was benched after just four games last season, in favor of Kyle Orton.
Taking all that into consideration, it’s not implausible that Taylor could pull off a surprise upset in the starting quarterback race.
Bleacher Report’s Cian Fahey is among those who believes Taylor deserves a shot to win the job.
Tyrod isn’t spectacular, but an explosive athlete who has shown some ability to make pocket throws accurately and on time.
— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) March 12, 2015
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah is also intrigued by Taylor’s potential role in the Bills offense.
One under the radar signing: Tyrod Taylor/Bills. Rex Ryan can use him to run the zone read stuff. He knows how difficult it is to defend.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) March 12, 2015
Even if Taylor does not win the starting job, he could see playing time for the reason Jeremiah mentioned. With the New York Jets, Ryan was unafraid to experiment with bringing dual-threat quarterbacks—including Brad Smith and Tim Tebow—off the bench for packaged plays. Presumably, he could do the same with Taylor.
Taylor himself indicated Thursday that he expects to have a chance to win the starting job, and does not believe there is a favorite in the competition at this point.
Tyrod Taylor said the #Bills told him there will be a QB competition, and no one is really ahead of the other right now.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) March 12, 2015
No one would expect Taylor to say anything to the contrary, of course. It remains most likely that either Manuel or Cassel will start, with Taylor being one of the team’s backups. But it’s also true that he has never had a legitimate chance to compete for a starting job in the NFL, nor has he had enough live game repetitions to truly be evaluated for his play.
Taylor, whose contract details had not yet been disclosed as of Thursday afternoon, is truly the wild card of the Bills’ starting quarterback race.
