The boisterous Rex Ryan has never been hesitant to make bold claims, and the New York Jets' former head coach is at it again.
From his days as Buffalo Bills' bench boss, an underwhelming tenure that was over in less than two seasons, Ryan is highly familiar with Jets' veteran backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor. In fact, it was Ryan who advocated for Buffalo to sign Taylor, the former Baltimore Ravens' second-stringer to Joe Flacco, in 2015.
As it turned out, Taylor outlasted Ryan by one season in Buffalo and helped end the franchise's 17-year playoff drought in what was Sean McDermott's first year as head coach. The Bills were 23-20 in games with Taylor playing the QB1 role.
Taylor spent the last two seasons with the New York Giants. He was 2-3 as a starter and was injured against the Jets, the team that would eventually sign him.
Gang Green did not have a proven backup quarterback ready to take over when Aaron Rodgers went down in the season opener and the offense struggled mightily throughout the year. Protecting against that from happening again, the Jets added a starter-level backup in Taylor.
"A great signing for the Jets," said Ryan as quoted by ESPN's Rich Cimini. "He's the best backup in the league. Easily."
Of course, New York is best when Rodgers is at the controls, but the 35-year-old Taylor is a proven commodity who can keep the ship afloat if needed.
Taylor will play on a two-year contract worth $12 million, according to Spotrac.
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