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If you stayed up into the wee hours of Tuesday morning watching the Buffalo Bills' futile efforts to stage a Monday Night Football comeback against the New England Patriots, you may have noticed quarterback Tyrod Taylor nursing his right throwing shoulder for the team's final set of drives.
Taylor was injured when, after completing a rollout throw to Sammy Watkins (who made a one-handed catch on the play), he was shoved off-balance by a Patriots defender and fell, rolling, onto his throwing shoulder. He immediately grabbed his jersey by the right collarbone area, and spent the rest of the evening doing so - even after the game had concluded.
Tyrod Taylor still holding his shoulder pad down after the game much like he did during the final two drives #Bills pic.twitter.com/TWYHc88zA5
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) November 24, 2015
He was in rough enough shape that head coach Rex Ryan even considered switching to EJ Manuel late in the contest. Manuel was shown warming up on the sidelines twice by ESPN's cameras, but Taylor ultimately did not miss a snap in the contest.
Rex Ryan said he was ready to go to EJ Manuel after Taylor hurt his shoulder but Taylor told him he was good to go.
— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) November 24, 2015
After the game, the Bills did not make Taylor available to reporters for an interview as they customarily do, which likely indicates that the team's doctors and training staff were already looking into the matter. The photo used for this article, snapped by Getty Images, was taken during post-game handshakes between the two teams. Clearly, Taylor was not comfortable.
The Bills have a short work week this week; they'll return to practice on Wednesday with one less day to rest up before Sunday's road trip to Arrowhead Stadium to play the surging Kansas City Chiefs. We may have an update on Taylor's health before then, but clearly, this will be the big on-field story line for the Bills heading into a must-win Week 12 matchup.