Baltimore Ravens 2011 season Taylor was selected in the sixth round with the 180th overall pick by the
Baltimore Ravens in the
2011 NFL draft. He was the 11th quarterback to be selected that year. The Ravens previously acquired the pick from the
St. Louis Rams in a trade that sent
Mark Clayton to St. Louis. The Ravens played Taylor at quarterback, in spite of the fact that many in the league believed he would be better suited at wide receiver instead. In his first preseason start against the
Atlanta Falcons, Taylor left with a shoulder injury. Early tests revealed no separation and his injury was characterized as a contusion. Taylor played in his first regular season game on December 4, 2011 in the form of a single play. In the second quarter of a victory over the
Cleveland Browns, he rushed for a two-yard gain which set up a 6-yard touchdown run by running back
Ray Rice. In the next game against the
Indianapolis Colts, Taylor also lined up as a
wide receiver for one play. The following week against the
San Diego Chargers, he threw his first career regular season pass, an 18-yard completion to wide receiver
Anquan Boldin, for the final play of the game.
2012 season In Week 17,
Joe Flacco was rested for most of the game against the
Cincinnati Bengals, offering Taylor significant playing time. Taylor scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard bootleg in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Taylor proceeded to throw a crucial interception to defensive end
Carlos Dunlap, which Dunlap returned for a touchdown in a 23–17 loss. Taylor went on to earn a championship ring when the Ravens eventually won
Super Bowl XLVII over the
San Francisco 49ers.
2013 season In the preseason, Taylor completed 21-of-36 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. He also showed his versatility as a runner, using designed runs and scrambles for 66 yards on 15 carries. Taylor's strong preseason performance allowed him to keep his job as the Ravens' backup quarterback for the third consecutive season. In Week 10, Taylor saw his first play of the season in a win against the Bengals. He ran an end-around handoff from Flacco for 18 yards, which was the longest run by any Ravens player in that game. Two weeks later against the
New York Jets, Taylor played 12 total snaps, five at quarterback, where he gained seven yards on four carries, as well as a 17-yard first down run in the first quarter. Taylor's total yardage was brought down by two second half runs where he lost 13 yards. He also made one reception for six yards. In Week 16, Taylor entered the game for Flacco during a blowout loss to the
New England Patriots. On his first snap, center
Gino Gradkowski snapped the ball too far to the right, which was recovered by New England for a touchdown. He finished the 41–7 loss, completing 1-of-4 passes for two yards and an interception that the Patriots' defense returned for a touchdown.
2014 season In Week 6, Taylor saw his only action of the season in a 48–17 blowout victory over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Taylor came in during the fourth quarter to relieve Flacco.
Buffalo Bills 2015 season On March 12, 2015, Taylor signed a three-year, $3.35 million contract with the
Buffalo Bills. On August 31, Taylor was named starting quarterback by new head coach
Rex Ryan, beating out former Bills' first round pick
EJ Manuel and veteran
Matt Cassel in a preseason quarterback competition among the three. In Week 1, Taylor completed 14-of-19 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 41 yards, as the Bills beat the Colts by a score of 27–14. In the next game against the Patriots, Taylor completed 23-of-30 pass attempts, throwing three touchdowns as well as three interceptions during a 40–32 loss. Taylor also added 43 running yards and a rushing touchdown. In Week 3, Taylor had the best game of his career (to date) in a 41–14 win over the
Miami Dolphins. He completed 21-of-29 pass attempts with three touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding 12 rushing yards. In Week 5, in a come-from-behind victory over the
Tennessee Titans, Taylor became the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 100 yards, run for at least 70 yards and catch a pass in a single game. His jersey from the game was sent to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in
Canton, Ohio. After the game, it was reported that Taylor had suffered an MCL injury, with the expectation that he would miss the Bills' Week 6 game against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals. In his absence, EJ Manuel was named starter and the Bills dropped the next two games. In Week 9, Taylor returned to lead the Bills to a 33–17 victory over the Dolphins. Taylor went 11-for-12 passes with 181 yards and a touchdown, to go along with a career-high 146.5 passer rating. In the win, Taylor also set the franchise record for completion percentage (91.7%) in a single game. In Week 13, Taylor set the Bills' franchise record for consecutive passes without an interception in the third quarter of a win against the
Houston Texans. The previous record had been held by
Drew Bledsoe since 2002. In Week 14, the no-interception streak ended on the last pass of the game, in a 23–20 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles (222). In Week 15, the Bills were eliminated from the playoffs in a 35–25 loss to the
Washington Redskins. Taylor set the Bills' franchise record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback, and became the first Bills' quarterback with over 500 yards rushing in a season. The Bills finished 8–8 on the year, only the third time they finished .500 or above in consecutive years since the late 1990s. Taylor finished the 2015 season completing 63.7% of his passes, while throwing for over 3,000 yards, with 20 touchdowns to 6 interceptions. He added 568 rushing yards on the ground. On January 25, 2016, Taylor and teammate offensive lineman
Eric Wood were selected to the
Pro Bowl and went on to play for Team Rice. They replaced Panthers' quarterback
Cam Newton and Panthers' center
Ryan Kalil, who were playing in
Super Bowl 50. Taylor completed 8-of-14 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, but also threw three interceptions.
2016 season Taylor entered training camp as the starting quarterback in the final year of his contract, as the third year of his deal was voided when he played more than 50% of the snaps in the 2015 season. On August 12, 2016, Taylor signed a six-year extension worth $92 million. However, the contract contained an option after the first year. On Christmas Eve against the Dolphins, Taylor threw for a career-high 329 yards and three touchdowns in the 34–31 overtime loss. For the season, Taylor completed 269-of-436 passes for 3,023 yards and 17 touchdowns with six interceptions. In addition, he rushed for 580 yards and six touchdowns. He was made inactive for the final game of the season due to a clause in his contract that would make his 2017 salary guaranteed if he suffered a serious injury. At the time of the game, he already had a groin injury that could require surgery. On January 5, 2017, Taylor had surgery to repair a core muscle issue. Taylor was selected as a
2017 Pro Bowl alternate, but he declined the invitation due to injury.
2017 season After the firing of
Rex Ryan, it was widely speculated that the Bills would either trade Taylor or decline his option. Nonetheless, the Bills and Taylor agreed to restructure his contract, keeping him with the team until the end of 2018. Taylor sustained a concussion early in the third preseason game against the Ravens, but was able to recover and start the Week 1 game against the Jets. In Week 7 against the Buccaneers, Taylor helped lead the Bills to a fourth-quarter comeback, driving the offense 75 yards downfield for the game-tying touchdown with less than three minutes remaining. The Buccaneers fumbled on their next possession, setting up the Bills' game-winning field goal by
Stephen Hauschka. Taylor finished the game with 268 passing yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 53 yards. In Week 9 against the Jets, he had a career-high 29 completions on 40 attempts for 285 yards and two passing touchdowns, to go along with 35 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, in a 31–24 loss. On November 15, following a Week 10 blowout loss of 47–10 to the
New Orleans Saints in which Taylor only threw for 56 yards, the Bills announced that Taylor would be benched for Week 11 in favor of rookie
Nathan Peterman. However, Peterman threw five interceptions during his first start against the
Los Angeles Chargers and was replaced by Taylor at halftime. In Week 12 against the
Kansas City Chiefs, Taylor returned as the Bills' starter and led the team to a win of 16–10 . In Week 13 against the Patriots, Taylor was limited to only 65 passing yards after aggravating a knee injury initially suffered in the first quarter. He was relieved by Peterman for the remainder of the game as the Bills lost 23–3. Due to the knee injury, Taylor was inactive for Week 14, but returned as the starter in Week 15. The Bills finished the season with a 9–7 record, clinching their first playoff berth since 1999. In the
Wild Card Round against the
Jacksonville Jaguars, Taylor had 134 passing yards and an interception before leaving the 10–3 loss with a concussion.
Cleveland Browns On March 9, 2018, the Bills agreed to trade Taylor to the
Cleveland Browns for a 2018 third-round draft pick. The deal became official on March 14, at the start of the NFL season. Despite drafting quarterback
Baker Mayfield first overall in the
2018 NFL draft, the Browns committed to Taylor as their season starter. In Week 1 against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Taylor helped the Browns snap a 17-game losing streak (dating back to 2016), despite the game ending in a 21–21 tie. Taylor completed 15-of-40 pass attempts for 197 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while also rushing for 77 yards and a touchdown. In Week 3, Taylor was injured against the Jets, which prompted Mayfield to take over at quarterback and won their first game since 2016. While Mayfield played out the rest of the season as starter, Taylor only appeared in one other game in the season, completing an 11-yard pass against the
Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9.
Los Angeles Chargers 2019 season On March 13, 2019, Taylor signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Chargers, reuniting with former Bills' offensive coordinator and one-time interim head coach
Anthony Lynn.
2020 season Following a shortened training camp, and with Rivers having signed with the Colts in free agency, head coach Lynn named Taylor the Chargers' starter over rookie first-round pick
Justin Herbert. In Week 1 against the Bengals, Taylor completed 16-of-30 passes for 208 yards, in a 16–13 win. In the next game, Taylor suffered a rib injury during pre-game warmups against the Chiefs and was hospitalized, leaving Herbert to start at the last minute. Days later, it was revealed the Chargers' team doctor accidentally punctured Taylor's lung while administering a painkiller injection prior to the game. In September 2022, Taylor sued the team doctor for malpractice. On October 8, Lynn announced that Herbert would be the starter for the remainder of the season. In Week 9, Taylor saw brief action against the
Las Vegas Raiders. Following a touchdown, Taylor came in on a two-point conversion attempt after Herbert was briefly sidelined after taking a hit. The two-point conversion attempt failed and Herbert returned the following series. The Chargers lost 31–26.
Houston Texans On March 22, 2021, Taylor signed a one-year contract with the
Houston Texans. He was reunited with Texans' new head coach
David Culley, who previously coached Taylor as the quarterbacks coach with the Bills in 2017. In Week 1, Taylor started against the Jacksonville Jaguars due to legal issues with
Deshaun Watson. Taylor finished 21-of-33 for 291 yards and two touchdowns along with 41 rushing yards in a 37–21 upset win. In the next game against the Browns, Taylor suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and was replaced by rookie quarterback
Davis Mills for the rest of the game. He was placed on injured reserve on September 21, with Mills being named as starter, and reactivated on November 6. In Week 13 against the Colts, Taylor was benched in the third quarter in favor of Mills. Taylor finished the game 5-of-13 for 45 yards with an interception. Houston lost 31–0 for the team's second shutout loss of the season (the first being in Week 4 against the Bills, 40–0). On December 10, Culley announced that Mills would be the starter for the remainder of the season.
New York Giants 2022 season On March 17, 2022, Taylor signed a two-year contract worth $11 million with the
New York Giants. In Week 4, he made his Giants debut in the third quarter against the
Chicago Bears, replacing starter
Daniel Jones who sustained a sprained ankle. However, ten minutes later, Taylor was
concussed in the fourth quarter and Jones was put back in. The former was put in NFL concussion protocol for the fourth time in five years.
2023 season In Week 5, Taylor relieved Jones against the Dolphins after Jones suffered a neck injury late in the game. Taylor finished the game, completing 9-of-12 passes for 86 yards, and added another 14 yards rushing. In Week 6, with Jones out, Taylor started against his former team, the Bills. He led New York to a narrow 14–9 loss, which was decided on the last play. He became just the second
black starting quarterback in Giants' history, after
Geno Smith in
2017. In Week 7, Taylor started against division rival
Washington Commanders, winning 14–7, and made history as the first black quarterback to ever win a game for the Giants since their entry into the NFL in 1925. In Week 8, Taylor suffered a rib injury against the Jets, and was placed on injured reserve on November 4, replaced by
Tommy DeVito on the roster. Following their bye week (Week 13), he was reactivated on December 11 to serve as backup for the rookie DeVito. He relieved DeVito at halftime of the Giants' Week 16 Christmas Day game against the Eagles, completing 7-of-16 passes for 133 yards, an interception, and a 69-yard touchdown pass to
Darius Slayton in the fourth quarter. Taylor was later renamed the starter on December 27 for the last two games of the season. He appeared in 11 games and started five in the 2023 season, throwing for 1,341 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
New York Jets 2024 season On March 14, 2024, Taylor signed a two-year deal with the
New York Jets, serving as backup to starting quarterback
Aaron Rodgers. In Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, Taylor came in during
garbage time and threw a touchdown pass in his lone drive. In Week 17, facing a 40-point deficit against the Buffalo Bills, Taylor replaced Rodgers with 12:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. He completed 11-of-14 pass attempts for 83 yards and two touchdowns, which prevented a Jets
shutout.
2025 season Taylor remained with the Jets for the 2025 season, despite requiring
arthroscopic knee surgery during the preseason, and would serve as backup to newly-signed quarterback
Justin Fields. Taylor made his first appearance of the 2025 season in a Week 2 game against the
Buffalo Bills, when Fields suffered a concussion with 12:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. Taylor was able to complete 7 of his 11 pass attempts for 56 yards and the only Jets touchdown of the day. Prior to the team's Week 8 matchup against the
Cincinnati Bengals,
Aaron Glenn ruled Taylor out due to a knee injury and named Fields as the starter for the game. Taylor was again named as New York's starter entering their Week 12 matchup against the
Baltimore Ravens. ==Career statistics==