Buffalo Bills Rumors: Tyrod Taylor Pulling Ahead In Quarterback Competition

The Buffalo Bills are rumored to have solved their quarterback quandary, and it’s Tyrod Taylor who appears to have stepped forward as the starter.

The team went into training camp with three men vying for the starting job — the veteran Matt Cassel, third-year player E.J. Manuel, the wild card, Tyrod Taylor. As the New York Times noted, the strengths and weaknesses of Manuel and Cassel are more or less clear, but Taylor’s lack of playing time while riding the bench behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore made him an intriguing choice.

Now, through two preseason games, Taylor has filled in the blanks. He has looked sharp in both contests, making plays both with his legs and with his arm, and reports from the team’s training camp outside of Rochester indicate that Tyrod now has a solid grip on the starting job.

Taylor looked particularly sharp against the Cleveland Browns in the team’s second preseason game, starting the contest and moving through the Browns defense.

Yahoo Sports noted:

Rex Ryan is playing Taylor to find out exactly what he has, and so far the head coach has to be pleased. Taylor’s running ability (he has 10 rushes for 88 yards) and throwing accuracy 12-of-18 passing through two preseason games has been strong, especially with whom he’s thrown to and run with.

Does this vault Taylor into a starting role? Not yet. But don’t be shocked if Ryan leans toward Taylor ever so slightly following the Browns game.

Though rumors around training camp indicate that the Buffalo Bills are leaning toward Tyrod Taylor, it is anything but a clear-cut lead so far. Both Manuel and Cassel have looked sharp in their preseason appearances (though Rex Ryan kept Cassel out of the second contest after a slew of injuries to the team’s running backs and wide receivers left the more immobile quarterback vulnerable).

The Bills could still turn to Cassel as something of a safer bet, or Manuel could surge back into the quarterback lead with some more strong showings and more consistency.

There could still be a lot of time for the Buffalo Bills quarterback rumors to simmer. Coach Rex Ryan has said he may wait up until the start of the season to name his starter, a move that likely aims to keep the Indianapolis Colts guessing. The Bills host the Colts in the season opener, and forcing the Colts to prepare for Tyrod Taylor would be drastically different than preparing for Matt Cassel.

[Picture by Jason Miller/Getty Images]