Through a week-plus of uncertainty as to whether or not the Buffalo Bills would have their starting quarterback to begin the 2017 regular season, it appears all the worrying was for naught.
On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills announced that Tyrod Taylor has gone through all five stages of the concussion protocol, and is now expected to start Sunday against the New York Jets to begin the regular season.
The starting quarterback originally suffered the concussion on August 26, during the team’s third preseason game of 2017. He sat out for more than a week of practice as the Bills were just hoping to get him back, and then took a big step forward on Monday by being able to participate in all individual drills with the team.
Had Taylor been unable to play, rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman would have gotten the start for the Bills. With Taylor, the Bills will face off against the Jets on Sunday at New Era Field at 1:00 pm.
Joe B’s Take
This is the best thing for all parties, even though that there was a contingent of the fan base that was hoping to see Nathan Peterman play. The Bills want to see if Tyrod Taylor can be the leader of the team and the franchise quarterback moving forward.
If he is, and proves to do all the things that the Bills had been hoping to see from him (becoming a better pocket passer, utilizing the middle of the field, better intermediate accuracy), then it would go a long way in helping build their team with the bevy of draft picks they have in 2018.
If he does not show the progress they would like, and the Bills fall way down near the bottom of the table of standings, the Bills could then move on to see if Peterman could be of any service to them, which could then make their task for the 2018 NFL Draft clear. If all else fails, they need to try and do everything to put a franchise quarterback in place — or at least someone to build around moving forward into the second year of the Sean McDermott-Brandon Beane era.
