Written by Jeff Schudel at News Herald.com
The Buffalo Bills plan to cut quarterback Tyrod Taylor this week, according to a report, and if that happens he could quickly find a new home with the Browns.
The Bills have been debating for months whether to pay Taylor a $15.5 million roster bonus on March 11. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports on March 5 reported they have decided to release him before the bonus is due, now in less than a week, and explore signing a veteran free agent at a contract more club-friendly. The Browns have “significant interest” in Taylor, according to the La Canfora report.
Taylor signed as a free agent with the Bills in 2015. He was 15-14 as a starter in two seasons in Buffalo.
Taylor has been linked to the Browns since the end of the season in the event the Bills cut him because of the Browns’ need for a quarterback. The link grew stronger last month when the Browns signed former Bills quarterback coach David Lee to be their quarterback coach. Lee coached Taylor the last two years in Buffalo.
“I know people will put those connections together, but it’s not really about that,” Browns head coach Hue Jackson said on March 2 at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “I went out and hired who I thought was the best quarterback coach for us, for our organization and that’s why he’s here.
“He’s coached some really good ones in the National Football League. It allows me the ability to still kind of move around and do some things I need to do, but he will be responsible for helping me mold these guys as we move forward.”
Free agency begins March 9. It is also the first day trades can be made in 2017.
The Bills could hold onto Taylor until March 10 with the hope of making a trade in the first two days of the 2017 league year. They could also decide to keep him and weather the $15.5 million bonus and his $12 million salary for 2017. A team trading for him would have to pay the bonus and salary. Taylor’s contract is for $13 million in 2018, $13.6 million in 2019, $13.85 million in 2020 and $14.5 million in 2021.
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