Buffalo Bills

Surgery adds new wrinkle to Tyrod Taylor's future with Bills

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 2:08 a.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, SI Wire/Sports Illustrated

Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor underwent groin surgery Thursday morning, further complicating his future with the team.

The decision to have the surgery was Taylor’s and was made after consulting Wednesday with New York City-area sports hernia specialist Dr. William Meyers, the team said. “The Bills were informed late yesterday of this morning’s procedure,” they said in a statement.

Taylor signed a six-year contract extension before this season, which could be worth as much as $112 million. The deal comes with a team option after this season, though, giving the Bills the ability to cut ties with Taylor by declining his contract option this spring. If Taylor is unable to pass a physical by the March 11 deadline, however, he would be owed $27.5 million in injury guarantees. If Taylor is released after failing a physical, all $27.5 million would count toward Buffalo’s 2017 salary cap.

The estimated recovery time for Taylor is six weeks, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports, though Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News reported before the procedure that the timetable was likely to be about a month.

• How Green Bay became the team no one wants to play

The injury bothered Taylor throughout the month of December, Carucci reported, but Taylor was still upset when Buffalo opted to bench him for the Week 17 finale against the Jets.

Asked the day after the game if he thought the benching showed the team lacked confidence in him, Taylor said, “That’s fair to say. That's what it showed.”

“Did I believe that was fair? No, I didn't,” Taylor continued. “Once we have the conversation and it's actually explained to me why it was done the way it was, we'll move forward from there. But we'll see when that happens.”

- Dan Gartland