Plot twist!
Since the news of Tyrod’s benching, Mr. Taylor has been quiet. Now, we have the counterpunch to the Bills “making a business decision.” This morning, Vic Carruci dropped this little factoid on us, which
For the past month, #Bills QB Tyrod Taylor has fought thru a severe groin injury that could need more attention in offseason. Stay tuned.
— Vic Carucci (@viccarucci) December 29, 2016
The Bills, for as long as I can remember have touted their medical staff as one of the best. The Bills also for as long as I can remember have been caught in weird medical situations. What do I mean? Well consider, just off the top of my head they’ve:
-Trying to trade John McCargo to the Colts, who failed his back on his physical that they later cleared upon his return;
-Forcing Torrell Troup to play through a back injury, eventually leading to his retirement;
-Being fined $20,000 by the NFL for failing to disclose Mario Williams’ wrist injury;
-Telling media (and fans) on several occasions that Sammy Watkins, LeSean McCoy and Robert Woods’ injuries were merely “pain management” issues;
-Allowing Aaron Williams a week after a neck injury to return, get re-injured and then allow him to return this season to (surprise!) get the same injury;
and now, Tyrod’s groin, which he denied at the time but has been on the injury report since.
There was an ESPN podcast a while back where @AnitaMarks said Taylor was fighting thru a groin injury. He denied it at the time….
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) December 29, 2016
…But he started every game and never even missed a practice until now, two days after being sat for financial reasons.
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) December 29, 2016
Sal’s points are good ones. However, the Bills track record of putting the onus on players to play hurt for the Bills “family” may have just bitten them in the butt. Getting players to get up and fight for each other, while it’s a noble cause for the team and the fans – is still a painful process for the players. To have Taylor go through those hoops, even after his coach said to them they were out of the playoffs, is and has been interpreted by me as a slap to his face. As merely a player, there wasn’t anything really for him to do – the contract is a team option – except for injury, which they protected themselves against by benching him.
Or did they?
If Taylor’s move works out, he will have a financial gun to their head and I could not be happier. Too often fans are more than willing to ignore team malfeasance in the name of loyalty to the brand. Well Tyrod can get himself traded to a team that wants him or force the Bills to cut him a 27.5 million dollar check before he walks away. At best, the Bills get a draft pick for a quarterback who has now re-gained leverage against a team that was too inept to communicate (there’s that word again) amongst themselves how best to handle a player that was willing to play hurt for them.
As much as Bills fans want to lambaste Marcell Dareus, he didn’t force the Bills to sign him to a contract that didn’t protect against future drug use. As much as even I disagreed with Doug Marrone’s decisions, no one forced them to give him a 4 million dollar out. No one batted an eye when John Murphy and co dragged Jairus Byrd or Jason Peters through the mud for not playing through injuries for “the team”. Deciding here, with Taylor that this would be the time to be Vince McMahon to the players’ Mick Foley was the height of foolhardiness and I applaud Mr. Bakari and Tyrod for showing them that loyalty is a two-way street.
If anyone has a problem with Tyrod admitting the injuries they’ve specifically told players not to talk about remember, it’s just a business decision.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
