With the Alex Smith trade from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Washington Redskins, the first domino has fallen in the 2018 NFL offseason’s mad grab for quarterbacks. While it would appear the Kirk Cousins move is the next domino in succession, that might not be the case. Can the Buffalo Bills pull off a similar trade with their starting quarterback, Tyrod Taylor?
This assumes the Bills want to move on from Tyrod, of course. If they don’t, they could just stay put and pay him his 2018 salary or give him a new contract extension but for our purposes today, let’s assume they want to move Tyrod.
If Buffalo were to arrange a trade that would be consummated on the first day of the league year as Kansas City and Washington have done, the Bills would avoid paying Taylor’s $6 million roster bonus due a few days into the league year. That would clear $16 million in combined salary and bonus money owed to Taylor in 2018 and leave Buffalo with $8.64 million in dead cap for Tyrod.
With a reported six teams interested in Smith’s services, maybe Buffalo could negotiate favorable terms with the other four or five teams to get something in return for Taylor. It won’t be a third-round pick and a nickel cornerback like the Chiefs received for Smith, but a mid-round pick might be in the cards for the right team.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly noted the Bills’ dead cap hit. It has been corrected.