Report: 'Real possibility' Taylor open to reworking Bills deal

Perhaps there is a way to keep Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo after all.

When a mailbag note from Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News suggested the veteran quarterback was unwilling to take a pay cut, it looked like the Bills would be forced to choose between cutting ties and picking up his massive contract option.

That meant either starting anew at the most important position on the field or taking a gamble that Taylor is the answer - and essentially locking in another $30.25 million in guaranteed money.

Seemingly adding an alternative to the mix, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Friday that there's a "very real possibility" Taylor is open to reworking his deal to lower its salary-cap hit, though Rapoport confirmed the quarterback won't accept a decrease in pay.

Taylor's cap hit, in the event the Bills pick up his option, is already fairly low for a starting quarterback. According to Spotrac, he's scheduled to account for just under $16 million against the 2017 books.

Converting some of his $12-million base salary into a signing bonus would give Buffalo more financial flexibility this season and get Taylor the same amount of guaranteed money he'd signed for last offseason.

That kind of arrangement has always been possible with Taylor - teams frequently manipulate the salary cap without actually paying players less money than they were initially owed. The key takeaway from his apparent willingness to rework the deal, however, is the implication he's open to staying put and helping the team out in the process.

The Bills benched Taylor late in the season to prevent his guarantees from kicking in if an injury kept him on the roster until March, and the state of the relationship between player and team has subsequently been unclear. Rapoport's report is the first relatively positive news about that relationship since.

In looking at the Bills' options around the league and in the upcoming draft, it's reasonable to suggest Taylor is their best option under center.

And while a decision on his future may still be a long way off, the hiring of Rick Dennison as offensive coordinator on Sean McDermott's new-look staff could prove to be a good fit. Dennison was the Ravens' quarterbacks coach in 2014, Taylor's final year as a backup in Baltimore.

Taylor is coming off his second season as a full-time starter with the Bills. He completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 3,023 yards, 17 touchdowns, and six interceptions, adding another 580 yards and six scores on the ground.