NFL Notes: Bills, Broncos, Cowboys, Falcons, & Texans

Bills

Bills HC Rex Ryan mentioned during an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio that he would not rule out QB Tyrod Taylor, despite the recent reports that he could miss a few weeks with an MCL injury.

“I would not rule out Tyrod Taylor starting this week….he’s got heart, he’s got toughness,” Ryan said.

Broncos

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that the Broncos backup QB Brock Osweiler “may be as good if not better” than Peyton Manning, who has struggled to be as productive this season as he’s been in the past two years.

“With the Broncos undefeated, it’s difficult to justify making a change, or even using a platoon system,” writes Florio. “But it’s entirely possible that Osweiler is in position to perform as well if not better than Manning, especially since Osweiler’s youth makes him much better suited to run the offense Kubiak prefers, but that he has scrapped in favor of letting Peyton start nearly every play in shotgun formation — and especially since that stifling defense can go a long way toward making up for deficiencies in the passing game.”

One issue for the Broncos is that Osweiler will be a free agent next year, which means that they would need to make a decision on whether to re-sign him without seeing him in game situations.

Cowboys

• ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that the Cowboys are using their bye week to consider more changes to their starting lineup.
• According to Werder, Dallas is weighing the possibility of starting Christine Michael over Joseph Randle at running back and La’El Collins over Ron Leary at left guard.

Falcons

Tiffany Blackmon of NFL Media reports that Falcons WR Julio Jones will play in Thursday night’s game, but the coaching staff will “monitor his pitch count.”

“Look it’s Week 6, everybody is beat up, sore,” the source told Blackmon. “You may see him out there holding the hamstring, but Julio feels they’ve got something special going right now. They are 5-0 and want to pull as far away from the Saints as they can.”

Texans

• Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports that WR Chandler Worthy is expected to sign to the team’s practice squad after being waived on Tuesday.