Tyrod Taylor - Pro Football Rumors

AFC East Notes: Jets, Harbor, Bills

June 19th, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Rory Parks

Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has frustrated and disappointed fans with his hard-line stance on the Ryan Fitzpatrick and Muhammad Wilkerson contract negotiations, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com commends Maccagnan for at least being willing to take an unpopular position and hold his ground in a pragmatic way that suggests he has the club’s long-term interests at heart. Cimini adds that Maccagnan’s approach is a refreshing change of pace from that of predecessor Mike Tannenbaum, who often made decisions with an eye towards fan and media approval. Of course, now that Maccagnan has drawn a line in the sand, he cannot back down for fear of losing credibility in the agent community, but he also cannot afford to enter the season without Fitzpatrick and Wilkerson.

As we wait to see if Maccagnan can pull off this delicate balancing act, let’s check out a few more links from the AFC East:

In the same piece, Cimini says he would be surprised if Wilkerson reported to Jets training camp–after all, he’s not under contract, so he cannot be fined for missing camp–but he would also be surprised if the Pro Bowl defensive end missed any regular season games. Perhaps the two sides can work out a deal wherein Wilkerson agrees to play out the 2016 season for the amount of the franchise tender ($15.7MM), and the team agrees to not use the tag on him again in 2017.
In a separate article, Cimini reports that the mother of Jets rookie linebacker Darron Lee, Candice Lee, has quit her job as a reporter and weekend anchor for WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio, and will serve as Darron’s manager. She will devote her time to handling her son’s off-the-field affairs, including endorsements and marketing (of course, there is not yet any money to manage, as Lee is one of four 2016 first-round draft picks who have yet to sign their rookie contracts).
Now that Patriots No. 3 tight end Michael Williams suffered a season-ending ACL tear, free agent acquisition Clay Harbor becomes the favorite to assume that role, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. However, Reiss cautions that even though Harbor received a $400K signing bonus–which is significant for a player for Harbor’s caliber–he will still have to earn his spot on the field (after all, the team handed out a $450K signing bonus to Reggie Wayne last year, and Wayne’s tenure as a Patriot lasted all of two weeks).
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com takes a look at the best and worst contracts on the Bills, and he concludes that the best contract is Tyrod Taylor‘s fairly modest pact, while the worst is Marcell Dareus‘ mega-deal that he signed last year. Fitzgerald goes into detail on both contracts, and the whole piece is well worth a read.

AFC East Rumors: Dolphins, Jones, Tunsil, Bills

May 3rd, 2016 at 6:42pm CST by Zachary Links

As the Dolphins welcome their newest draft class this week, they are also saying goodbye to a recent third-round pick. Damontre Moore, who was taken with the No. 81 overall pick in 2013 by the Giants, was waived by Miami on Tuesday. While Moore has 45 NFL games to his credit, he’s perhaps best known by fans for his fight with former teammate Cullen Jenkins over a pair of free Beats by Dre headphones. That skirmish ultimately brought Moore to Miami where he racked up four tackles and one sack in three games.

Here’s more from the AFC East:

The Dolphins have kept in close contact with defensive end Jason Jones and a potential deal remains on the radar, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. Jones met with Miami twice this offseason – once in early March and once in mid-April. The former second-rounder spent the past three seasons with Detroit, where he started each of his 34 games. In 2014 and 2015, Jones totaled 53 tackles, 9.5 sacks, four passes defended, and three forced fumbles through his two healthy seasons. In 2013, the soon-to-be 30-year-old was hampered with injuries.
It was previously reported that Dolphins first-round pick Laremy Tunsil would avoid instant enrollment in the league’s substance abuse program, but nothing has been determined yet one way or another, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today writes. “Any incoming player with behavior or conduct involving a substance of abuse will be evaluated by the program’s advisors. Those clinical professionals – not the club, league or union – will determine whether based on that evaluation the player should be entered into the program. Neither the club nor the league has a role in that process, and are not notified of their decision,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote in an email. Players in “Stage 1” of the program are subject to a treatment plan as well as drug tests which can vary in frequency depending on each case. Tunsil maintains that the infamous video of him from draft night was filmed more than two years ago. If that is proven to be true, then the offensive lineman will likely avoid increased monitoring for recreational drugs.
Now that the draft is out of the way, Bills GM Doug Whaley says that he’ll shift his focus to getting extensions done with the team’s key players in contract years. “Negotiations took a hiatus for draft weekend,” he told WGR 550 (audio link; transcript via BuffaloBills.com). “We’ll regroup this week and set a game plan through to the minicamp. I’ll sit down with Jim Overdorf and reach out and see if we can just keep the lines of communication open.” Earlier tonight, of course, Whaley reached agreement on a massive new deal with left tackle Cordy Glenn. Tyrod Taylor and Stephon Gilmore are also slated to hit the open market after the 2016 season and Whaley says he’s “supremely confident” that he can fit all three players on extensions under their salary cap heading into 2017.

Bills Rumors: Draft, Taylor, Whaley

April 20th, 2016 at 8:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Before today’s big trade went down between the Eagles and the Browns for the No. 2 pick, Cleveland ostensibly fielded calls from several clubs with interest in moving up. Only the Browns know the full list of suitors, but we can rule out one team. Geoff Mosher of 97.5 The Fanatic (Twitter link) asked a Bills source if the team was ever in talks with the Browns for the No. 2 pick, to which the team source succinctly replied, “Hell no.”

Here’s latest out of Buffalo:

The Bills have yet to call other teams about possible draft trades, GM Doug Whaley says (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News). Whaley added that calls will be made next week.
Whaley says trading down would be “more intriguing” than trading up, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. The Bills currently hold the No. 19 pick in the first round.
The Bills GM says there’s a “very, very good” chance that the team will be taking a quarterback at some point in the draft, as Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets.
For what it’s worth, it sounds like Whaley did not take the public comments made by Tyrod Taylor‘s agent to heart, as Carucci tweets. “He’s doing what he’s getting paid to do. If he was my agent, I’d hope he’d do the same,” Whaley said. Whaley added that he has yet to receive trade interest in Taylor (link).
When asked if a first-round selection at QB would compete for the starting job, Whaley said no and reaffirmed that Taylor is the unquestioned starter (via Rodak).
TCU wide receiver Kolby Listenbee made his final pre-draft visit today with the Bills, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.

East Notes: Eagles, Bills, Glenn, Gilmore, Fins

April 20th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Alex Marvez’s report about what the parameters of an Eagles trade for the No. 2 overall pick would look like, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports explains why Philadelphia may be willing to part with several picks to move up and land a quarterback.

While the Eagles haven’t made any decisions yet, the team doesn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to secure a franchise QB. Even with Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel under contract, Philadelphia is in position to make a move for Carson Wentz or Jared Goff, since Bradford could be cut after one year with limited financial repercussions, and Daniel is essentially earning elite-backup money.

As we wait to see just how serious Howie Roseman and his front office are about trading up, let’s round up a few more notes from out of the NFL’s East divisions…

The Bills have been mentioned once or twice as possible candidates to trade up to No. 2 in the draft, and general manager Doug Whaley didn’t rule out the possibility today, telling WGR 550AM that Buffalo is “open to do anything” (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News). However, the Bills have the 19th overall pick, which makes a move into the top five a long shot. And after sacrificing a 2015 first-rounder to trade up in 2014, it seems improbable that Whaley would make the same sort of deal again this year.
In his conversation with WGR 550AM, Whaley also said it’s possible that the Bills can get long-term deals done with left tckle Cordy Glenn, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, and quarterback Tyrod Taylor. In fact, the Bills GM suggested he’s “more optimistic than pessimistic” about locking up Glenn and Gilmore (Twitter links via Carucci).
The Dolphins will take a running back in this year’s draft, prompting Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald to explore the team’s options, beginning with Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott. Jackson also breaks down a bevy of second- and third-day possibilities for the club.

AFC Notes: Taylor, Bolts, Browns, Jags, Steelers

April 8th, 2016 at 8:49pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Agent Adisa Bakari, frustrated that the Bills haven’t extended one of his clients – quarterback Tyrod Taylor – propped up the signal-caller Thursday and took shots at other facets of the club (Twitter link). Bakari told SiriusXM NFL Radio that the Bills missed the playoffs last season because of a poor showing by their defense and a lack of discipline, not Taylor – whose performance Bakari referred to as “exceptional.” Bakari isn’t wrong – the Bills had a below-average defense and led the league in penalties in 2015, and Taylor was terrific statistically during his 14-game debut as a starter – but Buffalo doesn’t seem convinced he’s its long-term solution. Taylor is entering a contract year and the Bills have explored several QB prospects as the draft nears, so his chances of staying in their uniform for the long haul don’t look great at the moment.

AFC Rumors: Taylor, Bills, Broncos, Steelers

April 7th, 2016 at 5:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Asked during an appearance on the NFL Network if Tyrod Taylor is the Bills‘ long-term solution at quarterback, Doug Whaley was somewhat non-committal in his answer.

“We want him to be, he wants to be, and time will tell,” the Bills GM said, as NFL.com’s Kevin Patra writes. “But we’re excited about what he did last year — he went 8-6 as a starter. There is a lot of excitement around our football team.… I’ll tell you this, I know he’s a big competitor and he’s going to want to raise his level of his game next year and take the next step and we are excited and we’re going to try to give him as much ammunition around him for him to succeed.”

So what does that mean for a potential contract extension? Whaley says he won’t rule out a new pact being agreed to this season, but it’d have to be at the “right price.” In the interim, the Bills are keeping their options open and meeting with some of the top QBs in this year’s draft.

Here’s more out of the AFC:

GM John Elway and the Broncos have inquired about Taylor, according to Benjamin Allbright of AM1340 in Denver (Twitter link). A trade probably isn’t likely, as the Bills prefer to hang onto their quarterback and the Broncos are just exploring all their options, but it’s an interesting tidbit nonetheless.
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak says the team worked out Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch at his pro day on Wednesday, as Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets. Denver will still bring Lynch in for an official pre-draft visit down the line, as Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post tweets.
The offensive line is definitely a priority for the Colts, but it appears they’re more focused on improving at center and guard rather than the tackle spots, Mike Wells of ESPN.com writes. “The interior of that offensive line, the center and two guard spots, is the focal point,” coach Chuck Pagano said. At the same time, there aren’t a ton of high-level interior lineman in this year’s class and Wells wouldn’t be surprised if they took a top pass-rusher or middle linebacker if there’s one on the board.
Auburn cornerback Jonathan Jones is visiting the Steelers today, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. Akron outside linebacker Jatavis Brown and North Carolina Central cornerback Ryan Smith are also among the prospects in Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Bills Rumors: Ryan, Taylor, Manuel, Harvin

March 22nd, 2016 at 8:57am CST by Zachary Links

In 2015, the Bills played the majority of their snaps in a traditional 4-3 scheme, but this year, coach Rex Ryan promises “multiple” defensive fronts (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News).

What other changes are in store for Buffalo in 2016? Let’s find out:

Ryan said that the “entire organization believes in Tyrod Taylor, there’s no doubt,” (link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). However, he says that any extension would need to be in best interest of both parties. “Right now it’s probably hard to bring those two things together with our cap situation,” he adds.
This week, Taylor’s agent opened up to Carucci about the ongoing contract talks and noted that the league’s “31 other teams” have been paying close attention to the quarterback. When asked about the agent’s comments, Ryan replied, “The agent’s probably the most disappointed, but there’s a football team to run,” Carucci tweets.
Ryan said that he’s not sure that the Bills “have to” take a quarterback in the draft (link via Carucci). He opined that E.J. Manuel is “a solid No. 2 quarterback.”
Ryan said that he would “love” to have Percy Harvin back and the team would welcome him back “with open arms,” (link via Carucci). On Monday, GM Doug Whaley said that Harvin was still deciding between playing and retiring, though he “heard” that the wide receiver was leaning towards playing.
Ryan said Seantrel Henderson‘s health is getting better and his weight is coming back (link via Rodak). The right tackle finished last season on the non-football illness list after reportedly being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.
Ryan feels that new Bills assistant Ed Reed could become a head coach in five years (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).

Bills Rumors: Taylor, Harvin, Boldin

March 21st, 2016 at 7:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look at the Bills:

Bills GM Doug Whaley says there is “work to do” after the team’s initial contract talks with Tyrod Taylor, but the gap between the two parties is “not insurmountable,” according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Taylor, 26, initially signed a three-year contract last winter with the Bills, but the third year of that pact was voided after he spent most of the 2015 season as the team’s starting QB. Now, he’s entering his contract year. Starting for the first time in his career, Taylor threw for 3,035 yards and 20 touchdowns in 14 games in 2015, completing 63.7% of his passes and tossing just six interceptions. He also rushed for 568 yards and four TDs.
Bills free agent wide receiver Percy Harvin is expected to make a decision on his future soon, Rodak writes. Harvin, who played five games for Buffalo in 2015 before injuries ended his season, is still considering retirement. “Last thing I heard was [Bills contract negotiator] Jim Overdorf talked to his agent and hopefully he’s gonna make a decision the next week or two of if he’s gonna play, and if he’s gonna play, if he’s coming back to us,” Whaley said. “We’ll hopefully know in the next week or two.” Still, Whaley has “heard” that Harvin is leaning towards playing in 2016.
Whaley says “it would be tough, for what we have” to sign a veteran wide receiver like Anquan Boldin, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. However, he added that he would “never say never.” Boldin has previously said that he would like to continue his career with a title contender. While Boldin hauled in a respectable 69 catches with San Francisco in 2015-16, it was for the second-lowest yardage total of his career (789).
Whaley said the Bills do not need to restructure any other contracts, as Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News tweets.

AFC East Notes: Bills, Taylor, Wendell, Branch

March 21st, 2016 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Bills came into the 2016 offseason as one of the NFL’s most cap-strapped teams, and while the team was able to retain its top two free agents – offensive linemen Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito – that lack of cap flexibility resulted in some key losses.

In speaking to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press about defensive lineman Stefan Charles and to Tom Curran of CSNNE.com about wide receiver Chris Hogan, Buffalo general manager Doug Whaley repeated a similar refrain, suggesting that the Bills “can’t pay everybody.” The team non-tendered Charles, who was eligible for restricted free agency, allowing him to sign with the Lions as an unrestricted free agent. As for Hogan, he got an RFA tender from Buffalo, but it was a low-end tender, allowing the Patriots to sign him to an offer sheet that Whaley and the Bills couldn’t match.

“It was (difficult to let him go),” the Bills GM said of Hogan. “He’s done a great job, not only on the field as a third and fourth wide receiver (and) special teams, (but also) what he’s brought to the community. He’s a great asset to the Patriots. We’re sorry we’re gonna lose him. And add the fact that we’re gonna have to deal with him with the other end of that being (Tom) Brady, it’s a tough matchup because he’s a talented person.”

Here’s more from around the AFC East:

It appears increasingly likely that Tyrod Taylor will enter the 2016 season without a contract extension in hand, says Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. According to one of Carucci’s sources, there has been little – if any – progress in contract talks between the Bills and their starting quarterback. The team is more focused on locking up cornerback Stephon Gilmore before the start of the 2016 campaign.
Veteran offensive lineman Ryan Wendell remains in a holding pattern when it comes to his free agency, agent Frank Bauer tells Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Wendell’s 2015 season ended after just two games due to a knee injury, and even if and when he returns to full health, it’s not clear whether there will be a spot on the Patriots‘ 2016 roster for him.
Defensive end Andre Branch is looking forward to a “new beginning” in Miami that will see him become part of a Dolphins‘ defensive line featuring players like Ndamukong Suh, Mario Williams, and Cameron Wake. As James Walker of ESPN.com details, Branch is expected to fill the hole vacated by Derrick Shelby, who signed with the Falcons.

AFC East Rumors: Bills, Dolphins, Jets

February 27th, 2016 at 5:56pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Three of the AFC East’s four teams are in the news. Here’s the latest:

As free agency approaches, the Bills are working to retain their two best offensive linemen – left tackle Cordy Glenn and left guard Richie Incognito – writes CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. We learned this afternoon that the Bills intend to place the franchise tag on Glenn if he hasn’t agreed to a long-term deal by the March 1 deadline. Contrary to a report from earlier this week, the Bills aren’t currently looking to extend contract-year quarterback Tyrod Taylor, per La Canfora, who adds that they’re instead focusing on locking up cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Moreover, they’ll release defensive end Mario Williams and running back Anthony Dixon, and could restructure the contracts of safety Corey Graham, corner Leodis McKelvin, and possibly defensive lineman Kyle Williams. With some of the cap space those moves would create, La Canfora expects the Bills to pursue free agent-to-be Bilal Powell. The 27-year-old running back played under Bills head coach Rex Ryan as a member of the Jets from 2011-14. Powell averaged a career-high 4.5 yards per carry on 70 attempts last season and added a personal-best 47 receptions.
The Dolphins want to rework the contract of defensive end Cameron Wake, according to La Canfora. The problem, he notes, is that Wake would likely match or exceed the $8.4MM he’s scheduled to make as a Dolphin next season if they release him and he reaches the open market. Thus, the 34-year-old lacks incentive to take a pay cut. Not surprisingly, then, talks between the Dolphins and Wake’s agent made no progress at the combine.
With two ex-Jets bigwigs in Buffalo (Ryan) and Miami (executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum), representatives of pending Jets free agents said at the combine that the Bills and Dolphins could be landing spots for their clients, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. That seems to corroborate La Canfora’s report that the Bills will try to reel in Powell in free agency. Further, the Bills and Dolphins could go after Jets run-stuffing defensive tackle Damon Harrison if he hits the market, per Costello, though he notes that the teams’ lack of cap space might serve as roadblocks. Even so, Harrison could use those clubs as leverage to scare the Jets into meeting his demands.