Tanking Bills Should Continue Fire Sale, Here are Three Tyrod Taylor Trades That Make Sense

The new brain trust of the Bills has clearly realized that it has inherited a roster it is not in love with, and so after trading away two draft picks from the Doug Whaley era – odd footnote; the Bills fired him the day AFTER the 2017 draft, which made no sense – it’s time to look at dealing QB Tyrod Taylor.

We ranked the NFL starting QBs earlier this year, and Taylor came in 20th. He’s a solid bridge QB who can make some plays and buy you a year or two while your franchise QB develops. The problem is, if you don’t have a franchise QB waiting, it’s going to difficult to find one in the 14-20 range, which is where the Bills likely will be with Taylor, because he’s good enough to get them into the 6-9 win category.

So why not trade Taylor? You could fetch a mid-round draft pick and go into the season with TJ Yates and rookie Nathan Peterman vying for the job. A rebuild would be afoot. They’d win four games and have a high draft choice.

Baltimore Ravens. Where Taylor started his career waiting behind Joe Flacco. With Flacco hurt – he may be back for the opener – Taylor could capably fill in, keep the Ravens competitive, and they’d still be in line for a playoff spot should Flacco return. Since winning the Super Bowl, John Harbaugh has missed the playoffs three of four seasons, and you wonder how hot his seat would get if they miss the postseason again.

Jacksonville Jaguars. Tom Coughlin was brought in as Executive VP of football operations to get this team over the final hurdle and into the playoffs. The defense is very good, and the offense lacks a QB. Blake Bortles has struggled badly in the preseason; he may not be the start in week one. Chad Henne is a serviceable backup, but is he getting you to January? Second year QB Brandon Allen has shown nothing yet to prove he’s ready to do anything with this team. You’re telling me the Bills don’t part with Taylor for a mid-round pick?

The First Team That Loses a QB. Carson Palmer is 37 in Arizona. Andrew Luck still isn’t healthy in Indianapolis, and Chuck Pagano can’t have another sub-.500 season. In Detroit, Jim Caldwell will be under pressure to win and keep his job, and if Matt Stafford goes down, Buffalo should be the first call.

There will be a market for Taylor. If Buffalo wants a shot at a franchise QB at the top of the 2018 draft, they should be ready to deal him soon.