Tyrod Taylor: 'I Wasn't Being Told the Truth' About Benching by Bills

Cleveland Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor doesn't believe the Buffalo Bills were entirely forthright when they benched him for Nathan Peterman last season.

In an interview with UNINTERRUPTED, Taylor said Bills head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane gave him mixed signals.

"I wasn't being told the truth at the time," Taylor said (h/t Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith). "The GM told me one thing and the head coach told me something else."

The Bills surprisingly made Peterman the starter for what proved to be a 54-24 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11 of the 2017 campaign. Peterman finished 6-of-14 passing for 66 yards and five interceptions before Taylor replaced him to open the second half.

While he didn't reference it directly, Taylor may have been referring partly to comments McDermott made only days before the Bills benched him. McDermott told reporters the Bills "believe in Tyrod" and that he'd remain the starter.

Following his trade to the Browns, the Buffalo News' Jay Skurski noted Taylor's departure was inevitable: "Despite that, the team never gave any indication Taylor was a part of their long-term plans. Most recently, coach Sean McDermott and Beane took turns tap dancing around questions at the NFL Scouting Combine about Taylor's future with the team."

Ultimately, everybody had reason to be happy this offseason.

Taylor moved to Cleveland, where he's the unquestioned starting quarterback over 2018 No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield—at least to get the season underway. Taylor is a free agent in 2019, so he can use this season to build up his value before hitting the open market.

The Bills, meanwhile, received the No. 65 overall pick in the 2018 draft in return for Taylor and used it as part of a trade to land Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Most importantly, Buffalo could open the year with Peterman under center while first-round draft pick Josh Allen learns from the sideline.