The clock is ticking on the Buffalo Bills. They have to make a decision on Tyrod Taylor. If he’s still on their roster on March 11, they’ll have to pay him $27.5 million for the upcoming season. That’s a lot of money for a quarterback who probably never will become a true elite player.
On the other hand, there aren’t a lot of other options. Jay Cutler? Nick Foles? Josh McCown? Mike Glennon? Taylor at least has elite mobility and has shown some ability to run an offense. He’s probably a top-20 quarterback.
In particular, I have been impressed by Taylor on deep passes. He seems to have better accuracy and touch than the vast majority of quarterbacks on the long throws.
And running some of the numbers, that shows up statistically. Over the last two years, his 37 TD passes have come form an average of 26 yards. That’s the highest in the league among quarterbacks with at least 20 touchdown passes.
Cynics might point out that average has been helped by Taylor missing on some touchdown opportunities in the red zone. Fair enough. But he’s also been in a limited, run-oriented offense and been saddled with a lesser group of wide receivers. Sammy Watkins was hurt for most of last year, and they don’t have much else.
The correct move for Buffalo, I think, is to pay Taylor for this year, then re-examine the position again a year down the road.
| AVERAGE TD DISTANCE (2015-16) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | TD | Avg |
| Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 37 | 26.1 |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 54 | 25.9 |
| Kirk Cousins, Wash. | 54 | 25.2 |
| Jay Cutler, Chi. | 25 | 24.8 |
| Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 43 | 23.7 |
| Joe Flacco, Balt. | 34 | 22.6 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 64 | 21.4 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 59 | 20.3 |
| Andy Dalton, Cin. | 43 | 19.7 |
| Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 22 | 19.5 |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 61 | 19.5 |
| Alex Smith, K.C. | 35 | 18.7 |
| Philip Rivers, S.D. | 62 | 18.4 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 50 | 18.2 |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 23 | 17.7 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 55 | 17.6 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 60 | 17.6 |
| Andrew Luck, Ind. | 46 | 17.5 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 69 | 17.0 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 56 | 16.3 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 50 | 15.9 |
| Sam Bradford, Phi.-Min. | 39 | 15.3 |
| Carson Palmer, Ariz. | 61 | 15.2 |
| Marcus Mariota, Tenn. | 45 | 15.1 |
| Brock Osweiler, Den.-Hou. | 25 | 13.6 |
| Blake Bortles, Jac. | 58 | 13.1 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 71 | 12.0 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 43 | 11.8 |
| Brian Hoyer, Hou.-Chi. | 25 | 8.8 |
—Ian Allan