Two Bills Drive

'A source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter last week that Taylor is expected to be recovered from the surgery by March, the beginning of free agency.'

'"I want to be healthy because I want to get back and attack the offseason," Taylor said Monday. "As far as the guarantee in the contract, I want to get this surgery if that's what I need to get done — I want to get that out of the way. It's not about the guarantee."'

'Per the wording of his contract, if he is released before the third day of the league year, Taylor's $27.5 million bonus payment is guaranteed for injury "if he is unable to perform football services" in 2017. That is open for interpretation. The NFL management council could take the view that the wording in that contract means that as long as Taylor passes a physical and is able to play at some point in 2017, then that injury guarantee is voided. I spoke to several contract guys for NFL teams — not in Buffalo — who read it as such.'

'The Buffalo Bills benched Tyrod Taylor in Week 17 to prevent him from suffering an injury that could prevent him from passing his physical in March. If he were to fail it, more than $27 million would become guaranteed, putting the Bills in a difficult situation.'

'Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn is interviewing for the full-time head coaching position on Thursday with the team in Boca Raton, Florida.'

'The Bills may not want Tyrod Taylor back? OK. He's not a must-keep. But any analysis of whether the Bills should let Taylor go comes down to who will be their quarterback instead.'

'The Buffalo Bills starting quarterback for 15 of the team's 16 games this season posted pictures on his Snapchat feed of him in a surgery gown, presumably getting a procedure done. That much was confirmed by the Bills on Thursday morning.'

'The 2016 season was the 17th straight year that the Bills missed the playoffs and they continue to have the longest playoff drought in any of the four major sports in America. This will be another season of upheaval as what has become a nearly bi-annual tradition of the team starting the offseason looking for a new coach.'

'“That was our vision when we came into training camp,” said Richie Incognito. “We wanted to be able to take over the game and dictate the tempo of the game to opposing teams. Us rushing the football like that opens up a lot of different things. It sets the tempo for the rest of the team and sets the tempo for the offense. It opens up some things in the passing game that we want to do. It takes pressure off of everybody when we can run the football like that and then the offensive coordinator can go into his bag of tricks.”'

'Bills QB Tyrod Taylor had a consultation visit yesterday with Dr. William Meyers and elected to have surgery this morning. The Bills were informed late yesterday of this morning’s procedure.'

'“I would definitely love to be a Buffalo Bill next year,” Alexander said. “Obviously we haven’t talked about anything just yet. Everything is really fresh, but I will definitely weigh my options and see what happens. Coaching change, who’s back, there’s a lot that goes into it. So once my wife and I have all the facts and everything is laid out we’ll make the decision that’s best for our family.”'

'Taylor ranked 25th in the NFL in passing yards (3,023) and 24th in touchdowns (17), although he did lead the league at his position in rushing yards (580) and touchdowns (six). Whoever the next coach ends up being will have a big say in whether the Bills pick up Taylor’s contract option, tying him to the team for at least the next two years.'

'The poll, while unscientific, was voted on more than 18,000 times as of Wednesday morning. The Bills ranked third with about 10 percent of the vote. Here are the full results, rounded to the nearest whole number…'.

'Non-candidates, at least so far, include former Giants coach Tom Coughlin (link) and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.'

'Beginning in McDermott’s second season in Carolina, his defense posted four consecutive top-10 finishes in total yards allowed, including a second overall finish in 2013 while giving up just 15.1 points per game. The Panthers regressed this year, though, finishing 21st in yards and 26th in points per game.'