At the start of the offseason the Bills made no secret that they would have to add two quarterbacks to the roster. Just three days into free agency Buffalo has filled their quota. After acquiring veteran Matt Cassel in a trade with Minnesota the Bills signed free agent QB Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor arrived in Buffalo on Wednesday for a free agent visit and it didn't take long for the two sides to reach an agreement.
"It came very fast," Taylor told Buffalobills.com. "I didn't know what to expect going into the free agent market. There was interest from a couple of different teams. I felt this was the best fit for me moving forward so I signed the papers today."
Set to turn 26 in August, Taylor has not had a lot of time on the field in his NFL career, as he has served mainly as a third-string signal caller in Baltimore.
His greatest asset is his athletic ability, which is what made Taylor so attractive to the Bills. In fact head coach Rex Ryan has had his eye on the former sixth-round pick for some time.
"Tyrod Taylor is a guy that we just picked up that very few people know a whole lot about," said Ryan in an interview with the FAN 590 Thursday. "I actually tried to trade for this player when I was with the Jets. If he's not the fastest quarterback in the league he's certainly up there with him. He's got great run skills. I'm not going to say he's Russell Wilson, but he's got a little of that in him where he's able to run zone reads and pull the ball down and be effective."
"I was aware of it," said Taylor of Ryan's trade attempt a couple of years ago. "It was just a tight situation being in Baltimore. We didn't carry many quarterbacks there. But I appreciate coach sticking with me and bringing me on board now and I'm ready to work."
Taylor (6-1, 208) has attempted only five passes with the Ravens over the past two seasons, with no attempts in 2014. The lack of work however, has not done anything to discourage his plans to compete at the quarterback position for Buffalo.
"I'm just trying to make the room a better room," Taylor said. "We're all going to compete and we all going to push each other to be better. Hopefully we can make this team better as a unit. First things first you've got to compete and that has to happen each and every day. That's the first thing I'm looking to do."
The Virginia Tech product did have a decorated college career. A former ACC Player of the Year with the Hokies, Taylor set school records for career total offense (9,213 yards), career passing yards (7,017 yards), career rushing yards by a QB (2,196), career wins by a starting QB (34), career rushing TDs by a QB (23) and touchdown passes in a season (24). He had a 34-8 record as a starter.
