Only nine days remain before the Buffalo Bills need to make their final decision on current starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor, and even though there has been some insinuation nationally that Taylor would be back, the latest report shows that the Bills are still showing some activity on the potential quarterback market.
Benjamin Allbright, an NFL reporter based out of Denver, reports that the Bills would have some interest in Broncos' 2016 starting quarterback Trevor Siemian if the stars properly aligned in Denver:
If the #Broncos do end up with Romo, the #Bills would have interest in acquiring Trevor Siemian.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) March 2, 2017
Allbright added that acquiring Siemian would not necessarily preclude the Bills from keeping Taylor on the roster. It would give the team another option to start in the upcoming season and one that has worked with current offensive coordinator Rick Dennison during the 2016 campaign.
Siemian, 25, threw for 3,401 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions over 14 games in his first year of starting in the NFL.
Joe B's Take
Though it would take the Broncos finding a new starter of their own in the offseason, this is a possibility that is extremely realistic. Siemian limited his turnovers in his first year, knows the Rick Dennison/Gary Kubiak offense inside and out at this point, and has the starting experience to come in and potentially win the job.
The money certainly falls in line with what the Bills need this offseason. Siemian is signed for the next two seasons, is due to have a cap hit of under $650K for 2017 and just under $720K in 2018. If they were to acquire Siemian and still wanted to part ways with Taylor in an effort to clear up some space from their already small amount of salary cap room, this would all have to come together in an extremely short order.
The Cowboys would first have to release Tony Romo before March 11, and he signs with the Broncos shortly thereafter. Or, the Broncos would have to pick him up via trade, and then turn around and craft a deal with the Bills to ship their last year's starter to Buffalo. If any of those things don't happen in a timely manner, the Bills may not have any other choice but to pick up Taylor's option while the rest of it gets figured out.
After hearing from Bills head coach Sean McDermott on Wednesday at the NFL Combine, my read on their impending quarterback decision is fairly complex in itself. Reading the tea leaves, it seems as though the Bills will look into bettering their quarterback position in their eyes, and if they are unable to find anything that they like before March 11 at 4:00 pm, they'll have to pick up Taylor's option.
In the event that happens and Taylor stays, a restructure could be done to clear up more cap space for the 2017 offseason. However, even if they were to restructure and pay Taylor a similar amount of money, it would just be pushing more money into future years, and it could make it harder to part ways with the quarterback in the future.
As for Siemian, getting back with the offense and offensive coordinator that helped him rise to the top of the depth chart in Denver is something you would figure he'd be eager to have happened if his opportunities in Denver have run out.
However, adding Siemian would not inspire the fan base by any means. At this point in his career, he is "just a guy." Though with more experience he could develop into something more, it would just seem like another bandage put on the quarterback position by the Bills for the time being. If he were to have been traded, he would be getting dealt by a team that has a Super Bowl caliber roster at most other positions, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement from the team that knows him best.
