The winds of change are blowing hard in Buffalo with the Bills and there had been speculation that quarterback Tyrod Taylor may be experiencing a role change.
Despite Taylor’s performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bills head coach Sean McDermott is still confident in the signal caller’s ability as the team’s starting quarterback.
McDermott expects Taylor to start Week 1.
“I have all the confidence in the world in Tyrod,” McDermott said (h/t ESPN).
Taylor will start the Bills’ next preseason game on August 26th against the Baltimore Ravens and is expected to stay on the field into the third quarter.
Taylor was underwhelming against the Eagles, going 8 of 18 for 53 yards, two interceptions and a 12.0 quarterback rating.
Taylor threw an interception to former teammate, and recently traded cornerback, Ronald Darby.
“They were running a lot of routes that looked similar, so I was being patient with everything and cutting them off,” Darby said.
McDermott’s response after the game regarding Taylor’s status as the team’s starter caused a lot of chatter regarding the quarterback’s standing with the new regime.
“We’re always going to evaluate everything” McDermott said.
“By no means was that meant to come across that way,” McDermott said on Friday regarding his comments on Thursday.
One player that is ascending with the team is 5th round pick Nathan Peterman who has stood out throughout camp and has earned himself a promotion to the 2nd team in practice.
“Like I’ve always said, we always look at everything,” McDermott said about Peterman.
“That goes for every position, not just the quarterback position, but every position. Nate has certainly had a good preseason and training camp, and he’s going to continue to develop and get better. That said, Tyrod is going to start Saturday night, and I expect him to play and play well.”
The Bills are betting on their youth to blossom into major players.
Buffalo may eventually move away from Taylor as their quarterback, which wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in Buffalo or to anyone who has been familiar with the situation with Taylor and the Bills over the past year.
McDermott’s new regime may want to draft and groom their own quarterback, along with other players on the roster.
As the recent trade of wide receiver Sammy Watkins indicates, they are willing to move on from players that they do not feel fits the new team culture, regardless of age, reputation, and/or draft status.
Taylor should hope that his performance improves, especially if he has long term plans as the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills.
For now, it doesn’t look all that promising.