Tyrod Taylor‘s new deal with the Bills gives the player more money now while giving the Bills a great deal of flexibility later on, Mike Florio of PFT writes. The Bills have the option of retaining Taylor at payments below the franchise tag in 2017 and 2018 plus low base salaries in 2019, 2020, and 2021. If Taylor becomes a superstar, the Bills can retain him at a reasonable rate. If he regresses, then they can move on. That’s especially important since the Bills may have a totally different regime in place this time next year.
Here’s more out of the AFC East:
- Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus says it was a missed drug test that caused his four-game suspension, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Of course, in the eyes of the NFL’s substance abuse policy, missing a drug test is the same as failing a drug test. Shortly after Dareus’ suspension was announced, we learned that his contract includes rare language which protects most of his guaranteed cash, despite the drug policy violation.
- With way the way Bills the do contracts, Stephon Gilmore should hold off on a new deal until he’s functionally the highest paid cornerback in the NFL, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap tweets. Talks had stalled between Buffalo and their star CB earlier this summer, but GM Doug Whaley says that Gilmore’s deal is once again the focus of the front office now that Taylor’s extension has been completed.
- The Dolphins haven’t been inclined to keep a third quarterback on the 53-man roster to start the season in recent years, but rookie seventh-round pick Brandon Doughty could break that trend, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Doughty was 7-for-9 for 66 yards in the team’s preseason opener against the Giants. The Dolphins could try to sneak Doughty on the practice squad and use that roster spot for someone else, but they may not want to risk losing him to another team. For a full view of the Dolphins’ depth chart, head to Roster Resource.
- This week, the Jets were forced to place Bernard Pierce on IR, but they filled his spot with an intriguing name at running back.
- The Patriots are one of several teams eyeing veteran linebacker O’Brien Schofield.