So much for keeping it a secret.
Following the Bills 43-19 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday, Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan told reporters only the Bills organization would be aware of who the victor of the Bills quarterback competition would be while the public would be kept in the dark.
News broke around 11:30 AM ET this morning:
Bills are going w Tyrod Taylor as their starting a QB
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) August 31, 2015
Ryan had a change of heart in terms of announcing who their starter would be to the public.
“I had a change of heart [as] I wasn’t going to announce it [today, and] I thought [that] was going to help us. But in actuality I know the way it is. I know people get bombarded. I don’t want our players being bombarded about who is getting reps, all this kind of stuff. So you know what I am going to announce it today get that speculation over with, and then we will move forward,” Ryan told members of the media at One Bills Drive following practice Monday.
It appears Taylor will not take the opportunity to start at the NFL level lightly after being a backup in Baltimore for four seasons.
“I prayed for the opportunity, God made it happen. Like I said he blessed me with this opportunity to come here, the coaches seen something and signed me and I haven’t looked back since then,” Taylor said.
Tyrod Taylor beat out veteran Matt Cassel and third year quarterback EJ Manuel in a quarterback competition that lasted longer than most usually do. Most NFL teams do not wait until after the third preseason game before deciding who will start at the most crucial position in all of professional sports in order to prevent a lack of chemistry among the offense. Usually teams have their starter picked in advance of their third preseason game.
Keep in mind Ryan is not your typical NFL coach.
News of Taylor becoming the starter in Buffalo came almost two hours after the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport released the following, somewhat surprising news:
The #Bills have released longtime RB Fred Jackson, source said (as @viccarucci reported). Shocker. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2015
Although this was a tough pill to swallow for many Bills fans one thing must be remembered when discussing roster decisions in the NFL-the NFL is a business, a tough one at that.
Jackson was due to make a $2.3 million base salary as a part of his final contract and was a part of a crowded backfield featuring LeSean McCoy who the team traded star linebacker Kiko Alonso for during the offseason. The writing was on the wall for Jackson as soon as this trade was finalized.
The team could’ve approached Jackson with an opportunity to take a pay cut, however they never presented him with the opportunity, although general manager Doug Whaley did acknowledge that the salary cap factored in to the decision to cut him.
The reason why it was a tough pill to swallow for many Bills players and fans is because of the amount of pride Jackson played with on a team during a terribly mediocre stretch of several years. He had the respect of his teammates in the Buffalo locker room and the love of the fans in the stands.
Safety Aaron Williams had this to say when asked if he took the news hard: “I mean, personally, yeah. It’s just like, having your brother be gone. He picked me up from day one, and that’s all I’ve known since I’ve been here was 22.”
In terms of moving forward, the Bills coaching staff chose the quarterback with the highest potential and the best ability to create plays as their starter for the regular season. In my opinion this is the right decision although Taylor has never started a game in the NFL. He fits directly in to the Bills scheme under offensive coordinator Greg Roman by consistently demonstrating his ability to make plays both with his legs and arm throughout the preseason.
It will be difficult to fill the leadership void left by the release of Jackson and will be interesting to see who steps up. Make no mistake as backlash of this decision will not last into the regular season as the Bills will have moved on by the time the season opener against the Colts rolls around.
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