The news surrounding the Buffalo Bills just keeps coming.
After firing head coach Rex Ryan Tuesday, the Bills have revealed the team will start EJ Manuel over Tyrod Taylor against the New York Jets to close the season.
It turns out the handling of the quarterback situation played a role in Ryan’s getting fired before the season ended. ESPN.com shared the report:
After Ryan made it publicly clear Monday that he intended to start Taylor in Week 17, the Bills management had a decision to make, sources told ESPN’s Mike Rodak. Buffalo could allow Ryan to coach against the Jets for his “revenge game,” which was the original plan in recent weeks, or fire him to avoid the potential risk of an injury to Taylor.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted the game would serve as a tryout of sorts for Manuel:
#Bills have a decision to make on QB Tyrod Taylor. But also on EJ Manuel. I’m told this will function as a tryout for Manuel for 2017.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 27, 2016
Manuel, who has 19 touchdowns to 15 interceptions on his career, doesn’t figure to have great odds at convincing anyone within the Bills he should start again. But it doesn’t hurt the Bills to find out if he can be a long-term backup for whatever the team decides to do under center in the future.
Speaking of the future, it’s good the Bills want to avoid an injury to Taylor. That insulates the team should he be the starter next year, though whether he will be after an offseason of moves remains to be seen.
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