The Facts: Taylor bested EJ Manuel and Matt Cassel during training camp and finished seventh among full-time starters in passer rating. He threw 20 touchdown passes and only six interceptions and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Taylor and his agent, Adisa Bakari, hope that sterling debut was enough to warrant a lucrative extension of Taylor's contract, which goes through next season. But Bills GM Doug Whaley has balked. "I just focus on the stuff I can control," Taylor said this past weekend. "Whether they choose to extend me or not, that's out of my reach right now. I'm just focused on things I can control, and that's preparing like I've always prepared."
Diehards Line:Buffalo missed the playoffs for the 16th consecutive year, the NFL’s longest current drought. But after elimination was official, the Bills closed with home victories over the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets -- the latter knocking Rex Ryan’s former team out of the postseason -- to finish 8-8. That close revealed volumes about Taylor and his teammates. When others might have bailed, they competed. Still, it's understandable that Whaley would balk at paying big money for a slightly built running quarterback, one with questions about his ability to pass over the middle of the field and dealt with injuries in his first year as a starter. After just 14 starts in his career, there is still more proving to do for Taylor. As NFL.com suggests, if Taylor dominates in 2016, the Bills still own the franchise tag leverage to keep him in Buffalo. If he flames out, the Bills aren't saddled with an onerous contract. And remember, the Broncos have sniffed around Taylor and a trade apparently isn’t out of the question.