The race to be the Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback is over, as coach Rex Ryan has chosen Tyrod Taylor to start Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts, a source told ESPN Insider Adam Schefter.
Taylor won the job over EJ Manuel and Matt Cassel. Taylor is 24-for-31 for 236 yards in the preseason.
Those three, along with fourth-stringer Matt Simms, performed well in the Bills' last preseason game Saturday, going a combined 30-for-33 passing for 395 yards and three touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Simms will start the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions and is expected to play the entire game.
Entering his fifth season in the NFL, Taylor has not started a game in his professional career. His last start, as a senior at Virginia Tech in January 2011, was a 40-12 Orange Bowl loss to a Stanford team led by current Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
Taylor signed a three-year deal with the Bills in March, but that will void to a two-year contract if he plays at least 50 percent of the offensive snaps in either 2015 or 2016. Taylor will have a $833,333 cap number this season and can earn up to $2 million in playing time and playoff incentives.
Ryan did not want to make his quarterback decision public, hoping to keep the Colts from knowing the starter.
The coach has said he assumes that Manuel, Taylor and Cassel will all make the Bills' cut to 53 players next week "unless something else happens."
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