Bills Extend QB Tyrod Taylor

Michael Ginnitti
Michael Ginnitti, Managing Editor & NFL/MLB ExpertAugust 12, 2016
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Tyrod Taylor has only suited up 14 games for the Buffalo Bills, but he did enough in that span to gain their trust as their QB for the near future. Intial reports state the Bills and Taylor have agreed to a 5 year $92 million (base) extension in theory, but with structure is really only a 2-3 year contract.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that only the first year of the contract is fully guaranteed at signing, with the remainder of the deal a "prove-it" structure, likely rolling guarantees (see Colin Kaepernick). Tim Graham of the Buffalo news reports that the final two years of the deal are club options, giving the Bills full control of the backend of this contract should they require action. 

In other words, all signs point to this being a very team-friendly contract for the Bills, and a not so player-friendly deal for Taylor. With limited time as a starting QB (and a mobile one at that), the 27 year old former 6th round pick brought plenty of red flags to the negotiating table. But Brock Osweiler's $18M per year deal ($37M guaranteed at signing) with the Texans should have become a model for Taylor heading into this discussion. 

That being said, the reported contract provides Taylor with a deserved raise from his previous $3M salary for 2016, now locked in at a new money average salary of $18.4M. It's likely that the contract includes a fairly sizeable signing bonus, as well as a sizeable roster/option bonus in the 2nd year (that the Bills can prorate for cap purposes over the remainder of the 6 year contract.

Without confirmed breakdown details it's generally hard to speculate on contracts, but all signs point to the Bills rewarding their starting QB with cash in hand, while protecting themselves as best they can with their current cap space struggles, and potential need to move on from Taylor should he not pan out by 2018.

We'll update this article and all relevant Bills' pages as details come in.


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