It appears the Nathan Peterman fans will have to wait to see the rookie quarterback in action for the first time in the regular season. Tyrod Taylor, after practicing on Monday with the Bills, is closing in on playing in Week One of the 2017 season.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Bills starting quarterback has cleared through all five stages of concussion protocol, and is "on track" to play in the team's Week One contest against the New York Jets at New Era Field. Taylor originally suffered the concussion against the Baltimore Ravens in the team's third preseason game of the summer.
He hadn't practiced through all last week, and then returned to the practice field on Monday to take part in the individual drills that the media was allowed to see.
With Taylor likely healthy enough to play on Sunday, the Bills also made the move to place veteran quarterback T.J. Yates on Injured Reserve, which ends his 2017 season. The Bills have the option to either use one of their two 'designated to return' options of the season on him, let him stay on I.R., or can come to an injury settlement which would release him from the roster and free to sign with any other team.
The Bills also signed two players -- safety Colt Anderson and defensive tackle Cedric Thornton. Anderson was just released by the Bills on Monday, but was brought back the next day. To make room for Thornton, the Bills released defensive tackle Deandre Coleman.
Joe B's Take
As soon as Tyrod Taylor was seen on the field for the first time since the concussion during Monday's practice, it seemed to be a great sign that he was able to resume the workout stages of the concussion protocol. While it's not always indicative of an immediate return to that week, it was still positive news that seemed to be heading in the right direction for a quicker return.
Taylor playing over Nathan Peterman might upset some fans, but the Bills have to be happy because they will have their first true chance to see what Tyrod Taylor is made of, and without limiting the playbook from the things they'd like to do with him. Considering the lack of talent on the Jets roster, Taylor being available could be enough to secure the victory.
As for the other roster moves, the move to place T.J. Yates on Injured Reserve just made sense. The veteran quarterback had clearly struggled through the preseason, lost the backup job to rookie Nathan Peterman, and now with a third-string quarterback that they trust on the roster in Joe Webb, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Yates.
Considering his familiarity with the offense, it might not be the worst idea in the world to keep Yates on I.R., have him work with Peterman as more of a coach and mentor role through the season, to keep the rookie totally up to speed if it comes down that he has to play at some point this season.
The Bills bringing back Colt Anderson was needed because it gives the Bills four safeties again, and best yet, since he re-signed and passed a physical, that means he's healthy enough to potentially return to action again.
The swap of defensive tackles was likely done to bring in a player, Cedric Thornton, familiar with McDermott's scheme in the event that normal backup Jerel Worthy isn't ready to play on Sunday due to a concussion.
You can see my unofficial copy of the roster and depth chart below:
#Bills new roster/depth chart following today's 4 roster moves: pic.twitter.com/1O65wjmet1
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) September 5, 2017
