Tyrod Taylor‘s time as a starter with the Chargers came to a bizarre end, and it has resulted in legal action. The veteran quarterback is suing the team’s doctor, David S. Gazzaniga, for “at least” $5MM, as detailed by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. 
Taylor was sidelined just prior to the Chargers’ Week 2 game in 2020 when a pain-killing injection was administered, puncturing his lung. The accidental action by Dr. Gazzaniga left Taylor unavailable and opened the door to then-rookie Justin Herbert taking over as the team’s starting signal-caller. The latter has held onto that spot (and much more) in the time since, leaving Taylor to hit the open market the following offseason.
As the lawsuit notes, though, Taylor did so as a backup, rather than the starter then-coach Anthony Lynn stated he would have remained for at least a short time. “The economic difference between a starting quarterback’s salary and a back-up quarterback salary,” the suit states, “is at least $5MM and is more than likely much greater. The exact amount of such past and future loss is unknown to [Taylor] at this time.” As a result, the amount he seeks could be subject to change.
The trial resulting from Taylor’s suit – which also names Dr. Gazzaniga’s Newport Orthopedic Institute as a defendant – was originally scheduled to take place in November, but it has been moved to April to accommodate the NFL calendar. It will be after the 2022 campaign, then, that the matter of Taylor’s alleged “severe physical pain resulting in hospitalization, physical therapy, emotional distress and other past pain and suffering” will be presided over.
In 2021, Taylor signed with the Texans on a one-year deal which paid him $5.5MM. He made six total starts, dealing with a hamstring injury and ceding the No. 1 role to Davis Mills. This summer, he inked a two-year contract to serve as a high-end backup to Daniel Jones with the Giants. The pact carries a similar AAV of $6.5MM.
Dr. Gazzaniga, meanwhile, still holds his position with the Chargers. He will be the subject of plenty of attention once again in the coming days as Herbert deals with the rib cartilage injury he suffered on Thursday. The NFLPA will “closely monitor” Herbert’s treatment, per the ESPN report. Regardless of how that situation plays out, Dr. Gazzaniga will have this suit looming throughout the season.
That is really stupid. Taylor has always sucked anyway.
Why is it stupid? If your employer took negligent actions that resulted in you losing a significant amount of income would you be ok with that?
You don’t know if it took income away. He could have played and sucked and he’d be out of football for all we know
No, he got paid the salary he signed to play for and nothing less. There’s literally no lost wages whatsoever here for him to recoup.
Your going to earn more as a starter than a backup. I think that is obvious to everyone.
He wasn’t going to remain the Chargers starter for long. He was paid his salary for the year.
What took so long?
I suspect Tyrod was holding out hope he could regain a starter spot either with the Chargers or elsewhere…in which case he probably would not have proceeded with the legal action.
I was going to relate this to my mom but it was too long to get point across. She died because of incompetence.
Our lawyer had multiple Drs say it was malpractice. None would testify because they were friends or had privileges at the hospital.
These malpractice suits are hard to win. Hard to get Drs to testify and juries will side with Drs usually. They feel like they are overworked and don’t get enough sleep. You can’t win without a Dr on your side. Tyrod has more money to search for one so he has that chance. I am sure it was a mistake but and did shorten his starting spot a bit faster. I don’t think he would have left the next year any different. He would be a back up either way. I feel like it is a desperate move on his part. Will be interesting to follow though.
Subpoena them anyway.
Sorry to hear that man. Real crap situation that is.
A doctor hired by the Chargers punctured his lung.
They are not supposed to do that.
I can’t fathom a single reason for the Chargers to let this go on. Just settle now.
Zero reason to look bad to every other player/future free agent in the league only to lose.
We all know insurance companies are cheap and will battle for every last cent. This doesn’t get settled because of that reason alone.
It’s such a slam-dunk case, that whoever ends up picking up the tab would be wise to settle. $5m is actually letting them off light, considering what starting QBs earn now. We all know Taylor wouldn’t have played himself into a $30m+ multi-year contract, but he was playing well at the time, and a starter, and the injury robbed him of that, so if Taylor’s team really wanted to dig their heals in, they could make that argument. They could use Tannehill and Winston as comps. He’s going to win, and he’s going to end up getting a lot more than $5m.