Sal Maiorana

@salmaiorana

Tyrod Taylor plans to ignore all the talk about his unsettled contract situation.

The Bills quarterback was back at One Bills Drive for the start of the offseason program.





ORCHARD PARK — On this day last year — the commencement of the Buffalo Bills’ offseason program — Tyrod Taylor was just some nondescript quarterback the Bills signed as a free agent to provide a little competition for EJ Manuel and Matt Cassel.

Monday, when Taylor met with reporters after the first round of voluntary strength and conditioning drills at One Bills Drive, he did so under vastly different circumstances as the undeniable starting quarterback of the team. At least for this year.

“He is our starting quarterback, nobody in this organization doubts that, for the 2016 season,” coach Rex Ryan said of the 26-year-old Taylor who has not received any indication from the Bills whether they’re interested in extending his tenure beyond this last year of his bargain-basement contract.

Taylor’s contract status will be a prevalent storyline all year, assuming the Bills don’t give him a massive, market-worthy extension between now and the start of 2017 free agency. If they don’t, he will almost assuredly hit the open market next March, and if Brock Osweiler’s over-inflated four-year, $72 million deal with Houston is any indication, some team will make Taylor a very rich man.

“I can tell you this, our focus specifically with Tyrod is to get him the very best he can possibly be this year,” said Ryan. “There isn’t a person in this organization that doesn’t respect Tyrod Taylor, I can promise you that. Financial things, whatever, everybody’s got it. Whether it’s Tyrod Taylor, this player, that player, there’s always financial things that are very important to that individual specifically, but there’s a balancing act. And what’s best for a franchise may not be what’s best for an individual.”

Read: The Bills want to see more from Taylor in 2016. They want to see him build off, and improve upon, his breakout 2015 season when, as a first-time starter, he threw for 3,035 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions, but also suffered through bouts of inconsistency, especially late in games.

For his part, Taylor doesn’t seem the least bit irritated by this. He knows he has to prove himself every year, every game, every day, and he believes that if he does that he’ll get rewarded. So, for now, he’s not going to think about his contract.

“Not really a focus of mine,” Taylor said Monday. “I’m here to work; the business side will handle itself, whether that gets done or not, I’m just here to get better as a player. I honestly don’t read about the contract. I understand the situation I’m in, that’s up to my agent and the management.”

After serving four years as Joe Flacco’s backup in Baltimore, Taylor signed with the Bills last year because they offered him a legitimate chance to compete for a starting job, and as we all know, it wasn’t much of a competition as he blew away both Cassel and Manuel.

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With almost no previous NFL experience — he’d thrown just 35 passes for Baltimore — the contract he signed with Buffalo was three years for a modest $3,350,000, with $1,150,000 guaranteed, and Taylor was fine with that. However, by surpassing playing time incentives, the third year of the deal was voided, so Taylor is up again after 2016.

“I know the contract that I signed up for last year, I understand my contact fully, so the business side, whether I’m out there playing on that contract or an extension, it does not change,” he said. “I’m here to get this team better and to better myself and do what I can to compete for a Super Bowl.”

Taylor is certainly in position to make big strides this season. Now that he won’t be battling for the job, and won’t have to share first-team reps, Ryan said that, and having a full year under his belt as a starter, should expedite his improvement.



“He’s going to benefit a great deal, and I think our football team is going to benefit a great deal by already having the guy that we know is going to be our quarterback,” said Ryan.

Guard Richie Incognito, who did cash in after his first season with Buffalo by re-signing with the team just before he hit the free agent market, agreed.

“It’s a huge difference-maker for us going into the season, and going into OTAs and such, knowing Tyrod is the guy,” said Incognito. “We can start building cohesion as opposed to going through a quarterback battle. I’m excited to have Tyrod back, I love playing with him, he’s a fierce competitor and a dynamic playmaker, so having him entrenched as the starter is nothing but a benefit.”

MAIORANA@Gannett.com