As we first suggested, and later was widely reported, Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor is having a surgical procedure done today, most notably via pictures from Taylor himself.
The team put out a statement about the surgery today. The wording they used is...interesting. The statement reads:
“Bills QB Tyrod Taylor had a consultation visit yesterday with Dr. William Meyers and elected to have surgery this morning. The Bills were informed late yesterday of this morning’s procedure.”
The possibility that Taylor was going to have surgery has been out there for a while now, and news of the consultation has been out for about a week now. Given the reporting that’s been done by the local and national media, there was really no need to even make a statement.
Not only did they make one, it (like everything that’s happened in the last week at One Bills Drive) was a doozy.
First, was there really a need to point out that Taylor “elected” to have surgery? His injury history is pretty well-known at this point, and news about his groin injury has been spreading since the decision to bench him prior to the season finale. If he elected to have the surgery, who could blame him? Pointing it out makes the team sound petty.
Second, why did they tell us that they were “informed” last night? I’m sure they were, since that’s when the consultation visit happened, but why include that in your team statement? Given the lack of a head coach and the turmoil around how much the GM knows or doesn’t know about key personnel decisions, why go out of your way to make the organization sound even more clueless?
Leave it to the Buffalo Bills to make one of the worst situations in the NFL even worse with a two-sentence statement.
Update: Per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the procedure is on a “core muscle issue” and should carry a six-week recovery time. For those of you wondering, if the Bills were to decide to release Taylor, the physical to determine his injury status would take place about a month later, on March 11th. This surgery shouldn’t have an impact on that decision (from a financial standpoint, at least).