Brock Osweiler. Mark Sanchez. Colin Kaepernick. Robert Griffin III. Ryan Fitzpatrick. AJ McCarron. Josh McCown.
At this point, the Broncos have been rumored to be interested in just about every quarterback in the NFL that might have the smallest iota of a chance to end up in Denver. Aside from Sanchez, an option not many are thrilled about, they’ve busted out.
Personally, as I wrote last week, I don’t think moving forward with Sanchez is the worst option in the world. In fact, compared to those other names, he and his $4.5 million per year contract are the Broncos’ best option.
But let me throw another name into the mix: Tyrod Taylor.
You see where I’m headed? No? Alright, let me explain.
In case you don’t remember, the Denver Broncos actually made a very strong push to make Taylor a Bronco last season, offering him more money than he eventually received from the Buffalo Bills. And if there’s anyone in the NFL who would have known what Taylor was capable of, it would have been Gary Kubiak, who was his offensive coordinator in Baltimore; the fact that he wanted to bring him to Denver so badly, even with Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler under contract, should be a ringing endorsement.
Now, Taylor did decide to go to Buffalo because he felt he would have a better opportunity to start, and that’s exactly what he did. Aside from two games missed to injury, Taylor started every game for the Bills, completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 3,035 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Even better, he added another 568 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Of course, Taylor isn’t a free agent, which means that the Broncos can’t just go out and get him. But prying him out of Rex Ryan’s hands might be easier than you’d think, especially considering the breakout season he just had.
Just this week, Taylor’s agent, Adisa Bakari, essentially threatened that Taylor would leave Buffalo as a free agent next offseason if he doesn’t get a long-term deal from the Bills this offseason.
“It’s the Bills’ prerogative to do what they want to do as it relates to Tyrod Taylor or any other Bills player,” Bakari told the Buffalo News. “Fortunately, there are 31 other teams that have watched and will be watching Tyrod. And the fact of the matter is what Tyrod was able to do as a first-time starter in 2015 was give the Bills the best quarterback play they’ve had since Jim Kelly. If that isn’t enough to warrant an extension, I don’t know what will be.”
Now let’s just say all contract talks between the Bills and Taylor stall out, and both parties leave the negotiating table frustrated. Could the Broncos slide in and offer Buffalo and Rex Ryan enough that they’d part ways with their starting quarterback?
I say, why not?
If the Bills truly don’t value Taylor as a long-term option — the fact that Ryan has insinuated that they’ve yet to give up on E.J. Manuel only lends to that opinion — then why not give them a guy we know Ryan likes? As in, the guy he has tattooed on his arm!
It's times like today that it's important to remember that Rex Ryan has a tattoo of his wife in Mark Sanchez jersey. pic.twitter.com/7Ph9ID1ewE
— Skylar Wallace (@sky8632) November 26, 2015
It’ll take more than Mark Sanchez to get Taylor to Denver, but it’s a start, and it allows Buffalo to give up Taylor without fear of being left without a quarterback.
And now for the important part: Why would the Denver Broncos want Tyrod Taylor?
Easy! He’s the exact quarterback they’re hoping guys like Kaepernick and RGIII could become. While everyone is talking about reviving the career of a broken quarterback, there’s a guy out there that’s already doing what they need.
And Taylor is not just a running quarterback — though he’s really good at that. He has a rocket arm and one of the most accurate deep balls I’ve seen in a long time.
If he’s even the slightest bit available, the Denver Broncos should be banging down the Buffalo Bills’ door. There is no quarterback — not Kaepernick or Fitzpatrick — who offers more long-term upside than Tyrod Taylor. The Broncos couldn’t get the deal done last offseason, so here’s their chance to make right and get him to Denver this offseason.