Wholesale changes are coming to the Buffalo Bills, as the front office might decide to bench Tyrod Taylor in addition to canning Rex Ryan.
Another loss in Week 14 means another disappointing season for the Buffalo Bills and their fans. Even though they had high aspirations when they hired Rex Ryan, it hasn’t paid off. And despite him being a defensive-minded coach, their defense has let them down in a number of games, including this week when they got torched by Le’veon Bell.
But a week after the Bills blew a 24-9 lead to the Oakland Raiders, CBS Sports reported that Rex Ryan could be fired as soon as this Monday. The writing was on the wall for that, but what came as a surprise is that Tyrod Taylor could get benched in favor of Cardale Jones down the stretch.
The Bills have made it no secret that they might look for a QB on the open market, but they want to give Cardale a chance to prove himself. They gave Taylor a five-year option worth $31 million in guaranteed money at the start of the season, which would be triggered if he’s still on the roster come March 31. But one team source put it bluntly by saying “Unless Tyrod turns into Russell Wilson the last four weeks… he’s not going to get that option.”
It makes a lot of sense. The Bills are practically out of the playoff picture, having fallen two games behind the Miami Dolphins. Taylor has been Ryan’s guy ever since he arrived in Buffalo. But his numbers have been unspectacular this year, as he has 11 touchdowns to nine turnovers. Against the Steelers, he got off to an extremely rocky start:
Two drives in, Tyrod Taylor has thrown for zero yards, been sacked three times and had a pick six called back by penalty. #PITvsBUF
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSessler) December 11, 2016
Then finished 15-of-25 with two touchdowns and one interception. In a season where rookie quarterbacks have been the story, Cardale Jones’ only NFL action has been in the pre-season. And his claim to fame in college was when he won a national championship as a third stringer against the top three Heisman finalists.
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Jones was chosen in the fourth round, but so was Dak Prescott. In addition, pretty much every Ohio State player from this draft class has killed it this year, and Buffalo’s late-season woes mean that Buckeyes fans will finally get to see how he fares against NFL competition. It can’t be any worse than how the Bills have played so far.