CINCINNATI -- With six regular-season games remaining in his second season as the Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback, it remains unclear whether Tyrod Taylor will be the franchise's long-term option at the position.

Taylor's performance in the Bills' uninspiring 16-12 win Sunday over the Cincinnati Bengals did not provide much clarity to the situation and continued to muddle the sizable financial decision the team must make on Taylor by mid-March. If Taylor remains on Buffalo's roster at the time, he will be guaranteed $30.75 million, including $27.5 million in 2017.

Injuries to his supporting cast have made pinning down Taylor's value more difficult. Already operating without Sammy Watkins, the Bills' uber-talented receiver who has not played since Week 2 because of a foot injury, Taylor lost another top target, Robert Woods, in the second quarter of Sunday's game. Woods, the Bills' leading receiver this season with 42 catches for 493 yards, left the locker room on crutches because of a knee injury that knocked him out of the contest.

Taylor finished the game 19-of-27 passing for 166 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a 70.4 quarterback rating. Combined with similar performances, it is the sort of stat line that would give most teams pause about their quarterback's long-term viability as a starter. But in the Bills' case, they must frame any evaluation of Taylor in the context of him without his top two receivers, Watkins and Woods.

"It’s kind of tough to know [how Taylor played], as there were some tough plays," coach Rex Ryan said after the game. "But he made some really good plays. He’s a special guy who made some really big plays for us."

Ryan said last week that he has been a "big supporter" of Taylor, and it makes sense: Ryan long coveted Taylor and helped lure him to Buffalo in part because of his extraordinary athleticism. Even when Taylor struggled in a 41-25 loss to the Patriots last month, averaging only 4.8 yards per attempt and finishing with a 63.8 quarterback rating, the idea of benching Taylor would have been preposterous for Ryan and unthinkable for most followers of the team.

Although it is undeniably obvious that Taylor is the Bills' best option at quarterback in the short term, far more preferable than backup EJ Manuel or rookie Cardale Jones, the same conclusion is not as easily reached when discussing Taylor's long-term future with the team.

Now 13-11 as the Bills' starter, Taylor has been mostly average and only occasionally great or poor. If the Bills decide in March that they do not feel Taylor will become a consistently better-than-average quarterback, they have the option of cutting him without virtually any financial consequences.

If the Bills made that decision -- it would be hotly debated in Buffalo for years -- they would need to move quickly to find a quarterback to replace Taylor. More than likely, the switch would come with a dip in short-term gain and the potential to do better than Taylor in the long term. It would also give the Bills more flexibility with their salary cap, instead of committing to a quarterback who probably will not lead Buffalo to the playoffs this season.

But for now, the Bills' hands are tied in making a call about Taylor because of injuries around him. Of Taylor's four active wide receivers at the end of Sunday's win -- Percy Harvin, Marquise Goodwin, Brandon Tate and Justin Hunter -- only Goodwin was in training camp this summer. That group could be boosted by Watkins' return to practice as soon as this week, and Watkins is eligible to play next Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"I think Tyrod is an outstanding quarterback. I really do," Ryan said Wednesday, prior to Woods' being injured. "Hopefully we’ll find out soon if we really have a full deck of how good this kid could really be."