New York Giants 2024 UFA Primer: QB Tyrod Taylor

General manager Joe Schoen hasn't ruled out re-signing pending UFA Tyrod Taylor. But should he?

Tyrod Taylor, Quarterback

Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 217 lbs.
Age: 34
NFL Exp.: 13 Years
College: Virginia Tech

In a year where over half of the NFL’s 32 franchises had to rely on at least one replacement arm throughout the regular season, no team learned more about the importance of having a really good backup quarterback than the New York Giants with their soon-to-be free agent journeyman in Tyrod Taylor.

The longest-tenured offensive player on the roster, Taylor joined the Giants before the 2022 season when he signed a two-year, $11 million deal to back up starting quarterback Daniel Jones in the first year of the Brian Daboll regime. The 13-year veteran had ties to Daboll from their days in Buffalo–where the former was a starter for three seasons, and the latter was the Bills' offensive coordinator–and was seen as a trusted option to hold up the offense in the event Jones should fall victim to extended injuries.

Along with that stint with the Bills, Taylor began his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens, who drafted him 180th overall in the 2011 draft out of Virginia Tech. His professional journey has also made stops in Cleveland (2018), Los Angeles with the Chargers (2019-21), and Houston (2021-22), where he played in 18 total games but only had a substantial impact with the latter franchise by posting 91 completions for 966 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions.

Taylor was a four-year starter with the Hokies, whom he led to a 34-7 overall record for one of the best all-time records for a starting quarterback in school history. He played in 50 total contests and completed 495 passes for 7,017 yards, 44 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions, along with 501 rushes for 2,196 yards and five scores to win multiple ACC nods and help Virginia Tech take two conference championships in sophomore and senior seasons.

The bulk of his NFL action came with the Bills from 2015 to 2017, when he appeared in 44 contests and achieved three straight seasons with at least 2,799 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and a completion percentage of 61.7%. Taylor also racked up 1,575 yards rushing and another 14 scores with his legs and capped it off by leading the Bills to a 9-7 record in the 2017 season for their first playoff berth since 1999.

Put it all together, and Taylor enters the offseason of his 14th NFL year, having played in 92 games for six different organizations and boasting an impressive 1,068 completion mark spanning 12 135 yards (7.0 average), 65 touchdowns, and 29 interceptions. Add in another 404 carries for 2 268 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns, and he’s made a resume for himself as one of the most experienced dual-threat backup quarterbacks in the entire league.

2023 Recap

In his second season with the Giants, Tyrod Taylor played in 11 games as both a replacement gunslinger and the team’s starting option, posting 116 completions (64.4%) for 1,341 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions and contributing an extra 38 carries for 197 yards and an average rush of 5.2 yards on the ground.

Taylor first appeared in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, taking over the huddle when Daniel Jones went down with a neck injury late in the 31-16 loss. The 34-year-old would remain the starter for the Giants’ next two matchups in Buffalo and at home against Washington, earning a 1-1 split and becoming the first black quarterback in franchise history to lead the team to a victory.

Unfortunately, Taylor would injure his ribs in the 13-10 crosstown loss to the New York Jets and be sent to the IR list for the next month of the season while undrafted free agent sensation Tommy DeVito took over the reins and went 3-2 in his absence. The veteran resumed his starting role in Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles and followed that up by beating them in the season finale at MetLife Stadium, 27-10, behind 23 completions for 297 yards, one touchdown, and one interception for the Giants’ sixth and final victory.

Taylor would have four games with at least 200 yards passing for the first time since 2017 and finish with the fourth-best stat line of his career to help keep the Giants offense afloat in a period of struggles at the quarterback position.

Why the Giants Should Re-sign Him

The New York Giants will enter the offseason with questions regarding their quarterback position as Daniel Jones continues rehabbing from his ACL injury just two months ago. It is uncertain whether Jones will be ready to resume his place as the starter in Week 1, and there is no guarantee the team will pursue another option in the draft.

For three weeks, it felt like there was potential for Tommy DeVito to become the backup guy amid his storybook run until suddenly, that came crashing down in New Orleans and flipped the script back to Tyrod Taylor. That leaves the Giants with no true second answer to potentially start the season and then support Jones if injuries rear their ugly head and the chips don’t fall how people expect them to.

Throughout his career and tenure with New York, Taylor has more than shown he can be the ultimate backup quarterback in this league. Not only is he familiar with how things are run offensively in East Rutherford, but he is experienced in several environments and knows what it takes to play clean and successful football every week.

During those years with Buffalo, Taylor excelled at pushing the football downfield and keeping drives going using his dual-threat skills to extend plays. In that span, he averaged a 7.2-yard pass attempt and a 9.8 average distance of target, both of which were higher than his career averages. His passing numbers also included a big-time-throw rate between 3.6 and 5.9%, from keeping his pressure-to-sack rate below 20.2% in two of the three seasons.

Taylor is also a quarterback who generally protects the football and never places it in harm’s way to stifle his own offense. With the Bills, he had two years with a turnover-worthy play rate under 2% and achieved a touchdown to interception ratio of around 3.22, which is extremely good in today’s NFL.

Coming over to the Giants, Taylor would repeat those stylish numbers in the 2023 season, finishing with a 7.5 average pass, 9.1-yard average target, 8.9% big-time-throw percentage, pressure-to-sack percentage of 19.5%, and a turnover-worthy-play rate of 1.2%. He now holds a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2.24, which ranks him 16th among active quarterbacks and first among traditional backup players.

As a result of his success, Tyrod may demand a more significant contract than the one he signed a couple of years ago. Like any player, he knows his worth and has what it takes to play at a starters level before his career is finished.

That doesn’t diminish that the Giants may have difficulty finding another backup of his ilk if he doesn’t re-sign with the franchise. It would be wise to bring him back for at least another season and have an insurance policy should Jones deal with injuries again.

Why the Giants Shouldn’t Re-sign Him

Outside of the potential money involved in a deal to bring him back, the only concern with Tyrod Taylor’s return to the Giants is his inclination to get injured easily as he gets older.

This past season alone, Taylor suffered a few injuries that either took him out of the mix long-term or made the Giants play quarterback gymnastics in the middle of a game. He suffered the rib cage injury in Week 8 against the Jets that cost him four games but put Tommy DeVito into his own spotlight to become the hometown hero in that span.

In the season finale against Philadelphia, Taylor had to exit the contest a few times to deal with the effects of a right thumb injury, and it forced DeVito into the affair, who would also proceed to get banged up while his predecessor was being evaluated. The Giants didn’t have much invested in that last game other than bragging rights, but it is not a reality that they want to occur again in a more successful year with bigger implications.

In that regard, the Giants may elect to move beyond Taylor and his impactful production capabilities and look for a backup quarterback with a healthier background. It depends on what they’d want to prioritize in that position, arguably one of the top three most important in the sport.

Keep or Dump?

No matter who has to suit up for the Giants at quarterback in Week 1, having Tyrod Taylor back within the fold is a pretty safe bet for experience and maintaining consistent success within the season.

This past fall, he stepped in for Daniel Jones after a rough initial stretch and helped the offense stop itself from completely combusting at the loss of one of its most valuable assets. By no means did the Giants’ unit skyrocket statistically or win games at a high volume, but under Taylor, they got back to being competitive and in a position to win games down the stretch of what could have ended up a more miserable campaign.

The one question will be if he will demand a more lucrative contract to return as a backup, given his view that he has the potential to be a starter for any organization. The Giants should be amicable to that to a point, but they can rest assured they have a proficient backup arm if they can bring him back. 

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