Bills general manager Doug Whaley said Taylor did enough in 2015 for the team to "continue down the road to see if he can be the franchise guy of the future", The Buffalo News reports.
Whaley seemingly intended for his comment to be taken as praise, but it's still a bit perplexing how hesitant the Bills have been to commit to Taylor as their quarterback of the future, perhaps because acknowledging the extent of his success would illuminate just how disappointing the rest of the organization was this season. In addition to his obvious running prowess, Taylor overcame a mediocre receiving corps to complete 63.7 percent of his passes for 8.0 yards per attempt, with a 20:6 TD:INT ratio. Even with the Bills sporting a potent rushing attack, it was odd to see how conservative the team typically played on offense in the first half of games, seemingly unaware that it had an effective quarterback and a lousy defense. Buffalo still managed to go 8-6 in the games Taylor played, and with slightly better health and coaching, the team likely would've contended for a playoff spot. In any case, Taylor probably won't face any competition for the starting job next season, but it does seem the Bills are hesitant to extended his contract beyond 2016.