The past week for the Buffalo Bills has been a whirlwind for the franchise. After a lukewarm pre-season 17-10 loss against the Minnesota Vikings last week Thursday, the Buffalo Bills found out some disturbing news. Their top wide receiver, Sammy Watkins, had been traded to the Los Angeles Rams and their best cornerback Ronald Darby was now a Philadelphia Eagle. Buffalo’s wide receiving core was already thin. Tyrod Taylor and Watkins spent some of the summer working together. The depleted Bills offense leaves may people wondering if Taylor is being set up to fail by coach Sean McDermott and Brandon Bean.
The trade of the NFL offseason
The Buffalo Bills got Jordan Matthews and cornerback E.J. Gaines out of the Watkins and Darby swap. However, as much as Matthews is a productive, consistent receiver, he is not the same vertical threat that an athlete like Sammy Watkins is. Watkins is also speedy and athletic, which is perfect for a deep passer, such as Taylor. Now, that deep threat is lessened. Receivers Andre Holmes and Anquan Boldin are short catch guys who can move the chains. Zay Jones has speed, but his ability to stretch the field is still unknown. That puts Taylor in a tougher position.
Taylor is also without Jordan Matthews for the time being. Matthews was injured over the week-end during his first Buffalo Bills’ practice.
He has a chip in his sternum that may be healed by the beginning of the Bills’ first regular season game. Besides Anquan Boldin and Brandon Tate, who is mainly a special teams guy, this is the first year that Taylor is practicing with his top wide receivers. Fans are confused as to why the Bills’ coaches would want to put Taylor in this situation.
Perhaps, Bean and McDermott want to draft another quarterback in 2018.
While Taylor still has the elusive running back LeSean McCoy, the receivers that he worked with last year are gone. Robert Woods is with the Los Angeles Rams. Justin Hunter is with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Gillislee is a New England Patriot, while Marquise Goodwin is now with the 49ers.
Developing chemistry with receivers that came so late in the offseason may force Taylor to be something that he is not- a pure pocket passer.
Re-signing Taylor at the last minute
Sean McDermott also waited until the last minute to re-sign Taylor. The quarterback renegotiated his contract and took a pay cut to play with the Bills. Is it possible that McDermott was shopping around for a different quarterback or biding his time until 2018?
Buffalo takes on the Philadelphia Eagles this week. Tyrod Taylor is going to have his work cut out for him.
