The Bills were the Big Winners in the Tyrod Taylor Trade

by Greg Gabriel, Buffalo Sports Page

The Buffalo Bills traded quarterback Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns on Friday for a draft pick. What was surprising is that they were able to receive a third round pick in return. It’s not just any third round pick, it’s the first pick in the third round and that gives the Bills more assets if they decide to try and move up in the Draft to grab a quarterback.
As early as a couple of weeks ago, the Bills were saying that the plan was to hold on to Taylor for the near future and pay him the $6 million roster bonus he was due next week so that they could work out a viable trade. Not having to pay that $6 million is another huge win for the Bills. That gives them extra cap space in which to try and sign a few more quality free agents in free agency starting Wednesday.

When word broke about the trade, I couldn’t believe the Bills were able to secure a third round pick in return. How did that happen? A couple of things come to mind, first the Cleveland Browns were in dire need of a veteran quarterback to hold the fort while whoever they draft in the first round next month develops. Second, there were other teams in the running for Taylor. The other clubs were said to be Denver and Arizona. With that in mind, Bills General Manager Brandon Beane had some leverage. Another factor is the Bills had announced earlier that they were willing to pay the roster bonus if need be and not just cut Taylor. That showed the rest of the league that the Bills were not about to just give Taylor away. It was very smart handling of the process by Beane.

I wrote earlier this week that I was not a proponent of the Bills moving up to draft a quarterback. One of the reasons was they had limited cap space going into free agency in which to sign players. The other main reason was I didn’t feel the quarterbacks in this draft were good enough to move up to draft. The Bills may be better off waiting to see who falls. Having that extra high third round pick, gives the Bills extra ammunition to do what they feel is best for the franchise.

What the trade means is that now it is a given that Cleveland will use either the first or fourth pick in the first round to draft a quarterback. That leaves three other clubs in the top 10 with a strong need at the position. Those clubs are The Giants, the Jets and the Denver Broncos. The other clubs with a strong quarterback need are the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings. Arizona picks 15th in the first round while the Vikings don’t pick until number 30.
The clubs in need will change when the free agency negotiation periods opens on Monday. We will know by Wednesday and Thursday who signs a viable veteran and drops out of the quarterback derby.

All signs point to the Vikings getting Kirk Cousins, but at this time it’s not a lock. If he ends up with the Jets, then that takes at least one top 10 quarterback needy teams out of the equation. The other free agents that will play into the equation are Case Keenum and A.J. McCarron. If any of the quarterback needy teams sign those players, they more than likely won’t use a first round pick on a quarterback. Either way, will know in a few short days just how far the Bills have to move up (if they chose too) in order to draft one of the better quarterback prospects in this draft.