A year after making the Pro Bowl in 2015, Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor found himself in an unenviable game of organizational ping pong this season, which eventually led to him watching the season finale on the sidelines.
The Bills classified his absence, which gave way to an EJ Manuel/Cardale Jones combination on Sunday against the Jets, as injury-related and a "business decision" before more was known about a potential hernia surgery this offseason. Taylor told reporters on Monday that his job was taken from him.
"That decision is on them," he said, via WKBW-AM in Buffalo. "I feel like I've done enough as far as my play to be the starter here. It wasn't like I was outplayed, it was simply taken from me ... and that decision came from them. We'll see what the future holds.
"Did I believe that was fair? No I didn't."
Taylor went on to say that he would potentially think about restructuring his contract to stay with the Bills should they decline his massive option for 2017.
"It's too early to tell right now," he said. "Maybe that's a possibility down the line, but we'll visit when and if that happens."
Bills general manager Doug Whaley reiterated the organization's stance on the matter Monday, saying it was "a business decision" not to play Taylor.
"I would be upset if he wasn't upset," Whaley said at a news conference. "He's a competitor and that's what you want in your starting quarterback. He had a tremendous year. We sat him down as a business decision to have a look at the quarterback position because EJ Manuel was coming up as a free agent and we have a young guy. It was for the betterment and absolutely for the evaluation process of the position going forward. That was it."
Taylor felt like the end of the season showed him the low level of confidence the organization truly has in him.
"Um, I mean that's fair to say," Taylor said, via New York Upstate. "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."
While it's easy to understand the Bills wanting to see one more performance out of Manuel and a first performance from Jones, they are putting a lot of pressure on Whaley to nail the quarterback position this offseason. Taylor was not a top 10 quarterback but he was more than replacement level. In two seasons, he completed an average of 62.6 percent of his passes for 6,058 yards, 37 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also ran for another 1,148 yards and 10 touchdowns.
That kind of production is going to be extremely difficult to replace, especially if they try to do so via the draft.
