Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley does not sound like a man who would hesitate to take a quarterback early in the 2016 NFL Draft.
"We'll do it because if you look at it, unfortunately we have two quarterbacks on the roster and both of them are entering the last year of their contract," Whaley said Tuesday at the Senior Bowl (via The Buffalo News). "If it presents itself, it makes sense and it's a guy we like, and we believe in, absolutely."
Those two quarterbacks that Whaley references are, of course, Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel. Taylor's three-year free agent contract voided to a two-year deal based on his playing time in 2015, while the team is extraordinarily unlikely to exercise a fifth-year option on Manuel's rookie deal. A third quarterback on the team, Josh Johnson, is scheduled for unrestricted free agency.
Whaley's words might be a mild surprise to some, given that Taylor is about to play in the Pro Bowl after completing his first year as a NFL starter, and has already been named the starter heading into the 2016 season. But the Bills clearly don't want to commit to Taylor too quickly, and if he ends up improving on his 2015 production next year, he may end up being highly difficult to re-sign to a long-term deal.
Even if Taylor pans out and the Bills re-sign him, it would still behoove the franchise to start developing another player or two at quarterback.