Buffalo Bills Doing Due Diligence in Quarterback Search

The Buffalo Bills haven’t made the playoffs since 1999. As a franchise that loves to romanticize their run to four straight Super Bowls, it may be even more statistically impressive that the Bills haven’t made the NFL playoffs in so long that children who were born after the “Music City Miracle” are now old enough to earn a learner’s permit to drive a car in New York.

The most unbelievable part of the Bills playoff drought is probably how lackluster their effort has been to improve the most important position on the team. Since 2000, the Bills have drafted four quarterbacks and eleven running backs. The Patriots, a team that has had Tom Brady on their roster since 2000, has drafted eight quarterbacks in that same time frame.

Related Story: Bills: Turmoil with Tyrod?

But recent events would indicate that the Bills have finally started to take their quarterback search more seriously.

Starting with the 2013 draft, where the Bills selected EJ Manuel in the first round, Buffalo has been much more willing to cycle quarterbacks in and out of their locker room.

In 2013, then Bills General Manager Buddy Nix made NFL fans laugh after he was duped into a recorded conversation with Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik (via Deadspin). During the conversation, Nix all but admitted that the incoming class of rookie quarterbacks was horrible but the Bills were going to need to take one anyway.

Ultimately, Buffalo selected Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel with the 16th pick in the first round and while Manuel has not panned out for the team it is encouraging that the Bills finally took a swing rather than striking out looking. Before selecting Manuel, it had been 6 years since the Bills spent more than a 7th round pick on a quarterback.

Realizing rather quickly that EJ Manuel was not going to be the team’s answer at quarterback, the Bills brought in Kyle Orton after training camp, prior to the 2014 season. Manuel lost the starting job to Orton after an abysmal performance in Houston but to the Bills’ credit, they decided not to waste any time and made the switch to Orton.

Kyle Orton stabilized the Bills at quarterback for the 2014 season. While he was not an elite playmaker, Orton showed veteran smarts and played well enough that the Bills, anchored by an excellent defense, finished above .500 for the first time since 2004. Upon learning that Head Coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract with the Bills, Orton decided to retire, leaving the Bills with more quick decisions to make at quarterback.

With the departure of Orton, the Bills were left with only EJ Manuel at quarterback. They added Matt Cassell in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings in early March of 2015 and later added Tyrod Taylor in free agency. All three quarterbacks were given the message that they would be in the midst of a three-way quarterback during the 2015 preseason.

Tyrod Taylor ultimately won that competition and had a respectable 2015. Taylor threw for over 3,000 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while also running for over 500 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Taylor’s agent has been vocal in recent weeks about wanting a new contract for his client (via newyorkupstate.com) but the Bills do not appear convinced that Taylor is worthy of a large investment. Instead the Bills seem to be very interested in the incoming rookie quarterbacks.

According to this article on profootballtalk.com, the Bills “have had dinner with Paxton Lynch, and scheduled visits with Connor Cook andCardale Jones, along with doing what was termed “extensive work” on Jared Goff.”

There have also been tweets from NFL insiders linking the Bills to the soon to be rookie QB’s.

Buffalo finally seems like a franchise who recognizes the importance of finding a franchise quarterback and while they are certainly not set at the position their insistence on competition and improvement have them on the right path.

Tyrod Taylor is under contract for the 2016 season at the ridiculously affordable price of $3.1 million (via spotrac.com). If their interest in a rookie quarterback is not a smoke-screen, the Bills may be planning on drafting their future starter this year and sitting him behind Taylor for 2016.

If Taylor continues to grow into an upper echelon passer this season, they still have the option to offer him a large contract but if he plateaus, his replacement will already be on the roster.

More nfl spin zone: Buffalo Bills: Five Questions Worth Asking

The Buffalo Bills went over 15 years without properly addressing the most important position in football but they’ve moved quickly since then to fix the problem. If everything breaks the right way for the Bills, they could be in the enviable position of having too much talent at quarterback in 2017.