Tyrod Taylor: We will turn “a lot of heads” if I’m the guy calling the shots

[Captain Fear]

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Tyrod Taylor was supplanted in Buffalo by Josh Allen, and Baker Mayfield took Taylor’s job in Cleveland.

The Chargers pursued Tom Brady before he signed with the Buccaneers.

Taylor knows the drill.

But he’s hoping the Chargers give him a chance as the team’s starting quarterback.

“We have a lot of talent on our team,” Taylor told Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register on Sunday. “If I am the guy that would be calling the shots, I know for sure that we’ll go out and turn a lot of heads.”

Philip Rivers started the past 224 games over the past 14 years for the Chargers. For the first time since 2005, someone else will start for the Chargers in Week One this season.

Taylor currently is No. 1 on the depth chart, but the Chargers could draft a quarterback with the sixth overall choice or they could sign a veteran with Cam Newton and Jameis Winston among those still on the market.

Coaches have made Taylor no promises.

“I think it’s too early to start talking about it,” Taylor said of the starting job. “I’ve never been one to focus on things that I can’t control. . . .It starts with guys who [the Chargers] may sign whether it would be a veteran or whether it would be a rookie. I can’t focus on that because I can’t control it. So I feel like if I’m putting too much time into that then I’m not putting enough time into myself to be the best player. . . .I think I kind of done a good job of separating myself from the emotional side of things and just putting it aside and just strictly focusing on me being better, and going out and attacking each job with a starting mindset.

“I’ve done that since I stepped into this league as a sixth-round draft pick going to a team with an established quarterback [Joe Flacco]. For myself, mentally, I knew I had to walk into the building with a starting mindset, so I can be able to grow into the way I needed to grow, and I’m just trying to keep that mindset throughout the years. It has allowed me to be able to focus on what needs to be focused on for me to be able to go out and play ball at a high level.”

Taylor, 30, has one year remaining on his contract with a base salary of $5 million.