Last year, Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor beat out a former first-round pick in E.J. Manuel, a veteran who once received a $50 million contract in Matt Cassel, and became the starting quarterback.

Today, he was rewarded with a contract extension for up to six years.

Although the exact terms of the deal are unknown, Buffalo finally has some stability at the most important position in sports, and Taylor is the most talented guy they’ve had under center since Jim Kelly.

Where most young starters are often granted their chance by draft position, Taylor had to wait for five years as he sat behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore.  Unlike most backups, Taylor has starting quarterback talent and made the most of his mental reps.

“In order to take those steps it has to come from the player,” Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman said on the team’s website. “The player has to embrace the challenge of self-examination, self-awareness. He has done that A-plus, plus. I couldn’t be happier with his commitment to that process. He’s improving in every aspect of his game. I’m very happy with how he approaches his job.”

“Last season Tyrod was at the facility at 6:15 every morning,” said quarterbacks coach David Lee. “He was out at 7:30 at night. He knows how to prepare, and that’s going to pay off. If a quarterback didn’t prepare that way with all of those hours like he does, he’s going to be lost for the game. It’s a necessity if you’re going to be a good, starting quarterback. I mean really good, and he’ll do it. He works his tail off. You couldn’t ask for more.”

He is arguably the most talented quarterback Bills’ head coach Rex Ryan has ever coached.

“The thing that I knew about him was his work ethic and his passion for the game and obviously his God-given ability,” Ryan said. “That was what I knew we were getting, but you never know how it’s going to be until a guy really gets out there and he’s the guy under center. Nothing was given to him. He came here, and he earned the starting job, so it was all him.”

This is a very smart move for Buffalo.  They’ve been in “quarterback purgatory” for far too long and although the jury is still out on whether Taylor can win in the postseason, the Bills aren’t going to find anyone better in the draft and were extremely lucky to get him in free agency.

What does this mean for the other quarterbacks on the roster? 

Former first-round pick E.J. Manuel needs a strong preseason to keep his job as backup, but working in his favor is his moderate $1.6 million salary for 2016 which is fully guaranteed.  Manuel will never be a starter, but he does know the system and it would make sense for Buffalo to keep him this season.

Rookie Cardale Jones has reportedly looked raw, at best during Bills training camp, and his future seems to be on the backup quarterback track, despite his cannon for a right arm.  He will likely step in for Manuel as the backup next season assuming he takes to the offense and can fix some of his accuracy issues.

Some reports have the deal at six years and $90 million, which would be an excellent deal for both parties.  As the numbers substantiate we’ll update you more.