Buffalo Bills say Tyrod Taylor is medically cleared after groin surgery
Tyrod Taylor is apparently healthy, so the Buffalo Bills can make the move they would probably like to anyway.
The situation between Tyrod Taylor and the Buffalo Bills came to a head when he was benched for Week 17 in an apparent effort to keep him healthy. The team can cut Taylor before a total of $27.5 million in guaranteed money comes due on Mar. 11, but he has to be healthy. Groin surgery in early January threw a wrench into that, and subsequent reports have gone back and forth regarding Taylor’s future with the Bills.
Roughly six weeks removed from surgery now, with that conveniently as the expected recovery timetable, ESPN’s Adam Schefter passed along news from the Bills Wednesday morning that Taylor has been medically cleared. It’s possible a doctor of Taylor’s choosing would not agree with that assessment, but from the team’s perspective they can now get out from under over $27 million for 2017.
Bills general manager Doug Whaley may want 2016 fourth-round pick Cardale Jones to start under center next season, and cutting Taylor would clear the way for that. The structure of Taylor’s contract is odd to say the least, with that huge option bonus, but on the other hand there’s an out that can be exercised too.
If Taylor hits the market, which seems inevitable, he would likely become the top free agent quarterback available. Kirk Cousins is in line to get the franchise tag from the Washington Redskins again, and even once Jay Cutler is himself eventually released Taylor is younger (27) and a far less divisive personality.
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The Cleveland Browns may have interest in Taylor if he’s available, with former Bills’ quarterbacks coach David Lee in the same job there now. But Taylor would also be an upgrade for some other teams looking for a starting quarterback this offseason, with the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers toward the top of that list.