Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Tyrod Taylor once again found success in a new home – this time with the New York Giants.
Taylor, who started the first three games of the 2018 season for the Browns before an injury forced then-No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield into the line-up, led the Giants to a 14-7 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 6. He played efficiently in the victory with a 62.1 percent completion rate for 279 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and no interceptions.
It was the type of performance that begged the question of who should be the starter in New York — Taylor or Daniel Jones. Taylor emphatically endorsed Jones as the team’s starter, but the raw numbers point in a different direction.
USA Today’s Doug Farrar broke down how Taylor’s play has been a boon for the Giants in his two starts. Namely, Taylor is great at delivering big plays in tight windows and extending plays with his legs as needed. He’s also been more accurate and less careless with his passes.
But regardless of his ability, the Giants invested $160 million into Jones this offseason with a new contract and would likely start him over Taylor when Jones has fully recovered from a neck injury he suffered in Week 4.
A similar issue unfolded when the Browns had with Taylor in 2018. Cleveland traded a third-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for Taylor before they drafted Mayfield with the No. 1 pick. Taylor started the first two games where he led the Browns to a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers and a three-point loss to the New Orleans Saints. But in his third start, Taylor left the game with a concussion, which paved the way for Mayfield to take over. The then-rookie beat the New York Jets and never relinquished the starting job. Taylor sat on the bench for the rest of the season.
This has been, sadly, Taylor’s fate since 2018. He became the starter for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 before a wild pre-game rib injury from a puncture wound in Week 2 forced him out of the line-up. Then-rookie Justin Herbert took over and is now the team’s franchise quarterback. Taylor then started the first two games of the 2021 season for the Houston Texans before he suffered a hamstring injury, which allowed then-rookie Davis Mills to take over for most of the rest of the season.
Now in New York, Taylor likely won’t retain the starting job when Jones returns, but he at least has proven to be a viable quarterback in his 13th season.
