The Buffalo Bills continue to turn over every rock to find a franchise quarterback. General manager Doug Whaley has already met with some of the draft's top signal-callers.
The meetings cast a shroud over Tyrod Taylor, who impressed last season with his run/pass ability. Still, with the 26-year-old quarterback under contract for peanuts in 2016, the Bills' brass has been hesitant to give Taylor an extension.
Appearing on Thursday's edition of NFL HQ on NFL Network, Whaley was asked if Taylor is the long-term solution at quarterback.
"We want him to be, he wants to be, and time will tell," Whaley said. "But we're excited about what he did last year -- he went 8-6 as a starter. There is a lot of excitement around our football team..."
Whaley added that he expects Taylor to improve in Year 2 as the starter.
"I'll tell you this, I know he's a big competitor and he's going to want to raise his level of his game next year and take the next step and we are excited and we're going to try to give him as much ammunition around him for him to succeed," Whaley said.
It's understandable that Whaley would balk at paying gobs of money for a slightly built running quarterback, who garners questions about his ability to pass over the middle of the field and dealt with injuries in his first year as a starter. After just 14 starts in his career, there is still more proving to do for Taylor.
While Whaley has little incentive to do a deal now -- and even less cap space -- he said he'd be open to giving the quarterback an extension, for the right price.
"I'll never say never. We're working on it," he said. "We look at it this way, if there is a deal out there that makes him feel comfortable and want it, and it works for us as a team, we will have no issues consummating that deal."
What works for the team would likely not work for Taylor -- not considering what he'd fetch on the open market. Whaley won't say never, but we'll advise you not to hold your breath on Taylor getting a new contract anytime soon.
