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Report: Bills front office, coaches split on Tyrod Taylor decision

Posted at 3:55 PM, Mar 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-03 15:55:40-05

Eight days remain until the Bills have to make a final decision on Tyrod Taylor, but there isn't a clear consensus as to what they're going to do with the starting quarterback.

According to the latest report, that's because the two top entities of the Bills football structure can't seem to agree on the potential season-defining decision that needs to be made. Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com reported on Friday, citing league sources, that the front office of the Bills -- led by general manager Doug Whaley -- and Sean McDermott along with his coaching staff, have differing opinions on what to do with Taylor.

Whaley and company, according to the report, want to start fresh at quarterback. A large part of that is due to the structure of Taylor's contract option, which essentially would marry the team to the quarterback for at least the next two seasons due to the dead money that would be owed if released.

On the other hand, McDermott and his staff -- according to LaCanfora -- would prefer to have Taylor on the roster and are completely fine with his contract option as it's constructed and remain unsure that they'll find an option better than Taylor this offseason.

The Bills have until March 11 at 4:00 pm to decide if they will pick up Taylor's option. Unrestricted free agency begins just 48 hours earlier, on March 9 at 4:00 pm.

Joe B's Take

This is probably what Sean McDermott was referring to when he mentioned that he and GM Doug Whaley have had a healthy debate about roster-related things, in which they don't always end up agreeing with one another.

For weeks, the answer to the Tyrod Taylor question has remained the same. They don't even know what they want to do yet. As time ticks away and the deadline draws nearer, if this report rings true, it sheds light as to why there hasn't been a definitive answer at this point.

So while both sides would like this decision of utmost importance to go their way, Taylor remains twisting in the wind.

It's been clear for quite some time that Whaley if he had his way, would prefer to move on from that contract and start over at the quarterback position. It started the day they fired Rex Ryan and elected to not only bench Taylor for the final week of the season but to make him inactive as well -- just in case there was any remote chance he could get injured and the contract extension would have guaranteed due to injury.

I believe that the healthiest solution remains for the Bills to see what the market presents on March 9 and the days of "legal tampering" leading up to it, and then if they cannot find anything they deem to be a better overall situation, then they hope that Taylor would be receptive to a contract restructure of some sort.

It really has made the next week leading up to the inevitable deadline that much more compelling, considering just how the front office and coaching staff differ on the player and contract.

Yet again, the answer to the lingering Tyrod Taylor question is this: "They don't even know what they want to do yet."

Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia