New York Giants Quarterback Tyrod Taylor has made quite the career for himself. Not many sixth-round picks pan out in the NFL, but Taylor has been the exception. He’s in year thirteen of his career and has appeared in over eighty games across this time. Tyrod has established himself as one of the league’s premier backups, earning himself just over seventy million dollars in the process. That sounds like a solid career, but after looking into it further, it also is a career of missed opportunity.
Tyrod Taylor truly may be one of the unluckiest players in the league. Opportunities to start have been given to him, but he lost these chances through a myriad of unusual ways. Almost every starting gig he’s had ended through no fault of his own. A strange pattern can be seen quite easily when going team by team.
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens drafted Taylor in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. Speculated at the time to switch to wide receiver, the Ravens drafted him intending to be their backup quarterback. Baltimore was his least noteworthy stop, but it still started rough. In a battle for the backup quarterback job with Hunter Cantwell, Taylor suffered a shoulder contusion in his first pre-season start. He showed resiliency though, winning the job and later winning a Super Bowl ring with the franchise.
Buffalo Bills
Taylor did enough in Baltimore to earn a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. He did everything right in his tenure there; he went 22-20, had a Pro Bowl selection, and led the Bills to the playoffs in 2017. That may not pop off the page, but given the context of the Buffalo Bills franchise history, it’s quite the feat. Buffalo hadn’t made the playoffs since 1999, and had double-digit loss seasons in five of their prior six seasons before acquiring Taylor. He helped bring stability and hope to a franchise desperate for it. Unfortunately for him though, Buffalo felt the need to upgrade. Josh Allen was selected in the 2018 NFL draft, signaling the end of Taylor’s time in Orchard Park.
Cleveland Browns
Buffalo was open to trading Taylor after anointing Josh Allen as its franchise quarterback. This was seemingly a good opportunity for a fresh start, as it would guarantee him going to a QB-needy team. In an unfortunate twist of luck, another team that had just drafted a first-round QB would be the team to acquire him. The Cleveland Browns would trade for Taylor to be a stop-gap before replacing him with Baker Mayfield, who they would draft a month after the trade.
He won the job out of camp and helped snap the Browns’ seventeen-game losing streak in his first start. It was not a win though, with Cleveland ultimately tying with the Steelers in week one. He followed this with a solid performance against the New Orleans Saints, compiling a total of 272 yards and a touchdown.
His time starting would quickly come to a close, though. In a primetime week three game against the New York Jets, Taylor was hurt early in the game. In relief, Baker Mayfield completed 17 of 21 passes for 201 yards, leading the Browns to a thrilling 14-point comeback. Given the amount of eyes on the game and Mayfield’s electrifying play, Mayfield would take the starting job and never give it back. Through no fault of his own, Taylor lost his starting job. He was destined to regardless, but it wasn’t his choice to go to Cleveland. It also wasn’t his choice to get hurt so early in the season.
Los Angeles Chargers
Taylor’s next stop would be across the country in Los Angeles. He signed a two-year deal with the team before the 2019 season. Phillip Rivers was the established starter at the time but in the final season of his deal. As planned, Taylor was his backup for a season before being the leading candidate to start in 2020. Much like in Cleveland though, his successor was waiting. LA chose Justin Herbert in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft, but Taylor had won the starting job out of camp.
He led the Chargers to a week one victory, but then things got strange. In pregame warmups before the team’s week two clash with the Kansas City Chiefs, Taylor was scratched from the start. The team told media he had suffered a rib injury while preparing for the game. Later in the week, clarity was given. A doctor had accidentally punctured his lung with a painkiller shot, leaving him out for the week. It was one thing to be hurt during a game in Cleveland, but this was another level of strange.
It was a terrible change in fat for Tyrod, as it paved the way for Herbert. He put up a strong fight against the reigning Super Bowl champions, completing 67% of his passes and racking up two touchdowns. LA lost in overtime, but the team had seen enough. Herbert would start every game for the rest of the season. A fluke accident by a team doctor effectively ended Taylor’s Charger career.
Houston Texans
After his contract officially expired with Los Angeles, Taylor joined the Houston Texans on a one-year deal. It was a perfect opportunity for him to start yet again. David Culley was just hired as the team’s head coach and was Taylor’s quarterbacks coach for a season in Buffalo. The ongoing legal situation with Deshaun Watson left the starting quarterback role vacant as well. In a surprise to nobody though, luck was not on Taylor’s side yet again.
He was injured in week two, and replaced by third-round rookie Davis Mills. Taylor did return to his starting role in week thirteen, but by this point, Houston’s season was long over. He was benched again for the rookie Mills, as Houston needed to evaluate if he could be their long-term answer at quarterback. For the third time in his career, Taylor was phased out for the new and exciting rookie. Not even for subpar play, but for injuries mostly out of his control.
New York Giants
Lastly, we arrive at the New York Giants. Signing a two-year deal with the team in 2022, Taylor had a real shot to start for the Giants. Daniel Jones had his fifth-year option declined, meaning Taylor would be the only QB under contract for the 2023 season. Jones was also on a short leash with the new front office and coaching staff.
Instead, Jones had his career resurrected by Brian Daboll, posting his best season yet en route to a playoff berth. He also was healthy for a full season for the first time in his career, not giving Taylor any chances. In an even bigger unfortunate event for Taylor, he had the chance to close out a victory for the Giants against Chicago after Jones got hurt, but Taylor also got quickly injured. The Giants finished the game with Saquon Barkley at quarterback, and Jones came back the next week. Davis Webb was then given the chance to start in a meaningless week 18 game over Taylor.
The Rise of Tommy Devito
The Giants then re-signed Jones in the offseason, leading Taylor to be the team’s primary backup again. When Jones got hurt, Taylor started three games before suffering a rib injury. He played quite well in his limited time, leading the Giants to a victory and then a near upset of the Bills. Now, in arguably the most surprising twist of his career, Taylor’s injury paved the way for the newest New York icon, Tommy DeVito. DeVito has gone 3-1 in his first four starts, including a thrilling prime-time win vs the Green Bay Packers. This has all but sealed Taylor’s fate for the season. He was activated off IR and is fully healthy, but was demoted back to the bench.
2024 And Beyond
A rookie yet again usurped Taylor. This time though, it was an undrafted rookie with basically no expectations before the season. DeVito went from not being allowed to through the ball past the line of scrimmage in his first action after Taylor’s week eight injury, to winning NFC Offensive Player of the Week in week fourteen. This is the most fitting, yet unfair, ending to Taylor’s career in New York. It may seem unsurprising, but given the context of Taylor’s career, maybe we should have seen this coming. It’s unlikely he will start another game for New York, barring an unforeseen injury. At age 34, Taylor’s time in the league may be running dry. He should be in high demand for another high-profile backup job, but it’s unclear where he will turn to next. Hopefully, they don’t have a rookie waiting in the wings.
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