Former Ravens QB Tyrod Taylor wins the starting job

As a fan, at times you can feel bad for a player who really has no chance to see the field. Although he may be living the dream of being on an NFL team, not getting game action can really be frustrating. One such player is QB Tyrod Taylor, who spent 4 years holding a clipboard for Ravens franchise QB Joe Flacco. A 6th round pick out of Virginia Tech, Taylor served as Flacco's backup but never got more than a cursory glance here or there. However, when he did make it on the field, like in the 2012 finale against the Bengals, his play did not merit a second glance.

Taylor received his first chance at a starting job this pre-season, when the Buffalo Bills brought him in to compete with veteran Matt Cassel and former 1st round pick E.J. Manuel. While they all looked good at times, Taylor stood out with his versatility and poise. Head coach Rex Ryan is known for liking Taylor, having tried to trade for him when he was with the New York Jets.

Now the verdict is in, and Taylor has won the starting job:

The #Bills will start QB Tyrod Taylor for Week 1, source confirms (as @JayGlazer reported). This is Rex Ryan’s call.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2015

Besides the joy for Taylor at being given a chance to start in the NFL, this also has a side benefit for the Ravens organization. Known as the king of the compensatory pick, GM Ozzie Newsome should be happy with the likely bump up for the compensatory pick for Taylor when he hits certain thresholds.

Taylor signed a incentive laden deal:

Tyrod Taylor signed a 3 year, $3,350,000 contract with the Buffalo Bills, including a $400,000 signing bonus, $1,150,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1,116,667. In 2015, Taylor will earn a base salary of $750,000 and a signing bonus of $400,000. Taylor has a cap hit of $883,333 while his dead money value is $1,150,000.

YEAR AGE BASE SALARY SIGNING BONUS WORKOUT BONUS CAP HIT DEAD CAP 2015 26 $750,000 $133,333 - $883,333 $1,150,000 2016 27 $1,000,000 $133,333 - $1,133,333 $266,668 2017 28 $1,200,000 $133,334 - $1,333,334 $133,334 2017 29 UFA Contract Notes: Annual playing time incentives: $1M 2017 Voidable (50% playing time in 2015 or 16, or on active roster 5 days after 2016 SB) Sources: NFL contract specifics generally collected from the various reports, including Rotoworld, & OTC.

If you notice the bolded line in the contract notes, you see Taylor has a $1 million playing time incentive. If he hits this incentive, the likelihood of receiving a compensatory pick for him would increase.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy:

Tyrod Taylor's former Ravens teammates will be thrilled with report that he's starting; Very popular player in locker room.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) August 31, 2015

Congrats Tyrod!