Musket Fire » Jairus Byrd

Buffalo Bills used non-exclusive tag on Jairus Byrd

Joe Soriano — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:51:34 +0000

Yesterday, the Buffalo Bills kept their clear-cut top priority this offseason by slapping the franchise tag on star free safety Jairus Byrd. The league’s premier FS, Byrd is arguably the best player on the Bills and his importance to the team is at its highest after the Bills decision to release veteran strong safety George Wilson. According to the team’s official site, the Bills gave Byrd the non-exclusive franchise tag.

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills stated that they would only use the franchise tag as a last-resort, which made some wonder a bit about the prospects of Byrd hitting the free agent market. But the Bills decided to play it safe and give Byrd the $6.9 million tag, because, again, he is an obvious priority and somewhat guaranteeing him staying on the team should also be a priority. I expect both teams to agree on a deal.

I say “somewhat”, because the tag is non-exclusive. This means that a team can try to sign Jairus Byrd to an offer sheet, which the Bills have a chance at matching. It is impossible to envision a team actually trying to pry away Byrd, because signing a player who is under the non-exclusive tag costs two first-round picks. Byrd is an extremely talented player, but even he isn’t worth the price of two first-round choices to the most safety-needing team out there.

Byrd will be staying in Buffalo, and I am sure a long-term deal will be accomplished at some point. He has a great mix of ball-hawking ability, sound coverage skills, and youth that makes him one of the game’s best players on defense.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Buffalo Bills tag Jairus Byrd

Joe Soriano — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:42:42 +0000

The Buffalo Bills planned on using their franchise tag as only a last resort, so evidently things were getting desperate for the Bills with regards to Jairus Byrd. Probably the best free safety in the game today, Byrd was absolutely dominant last season, and the need to keep Byrd rose after the Bills decision to release strong safety George Wilson. The Bills likely did as much as possible to bring Byrd in on a long-term deal, and it sounds like not much progress was made. The team has essentially guaranteed that their clear priority free agent this offseason will remain, and losing Byrd would have been a travesty.

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Buffalo Bills have placed the franchise tag on their elite safety. Byrd will make $6.9 million in 2013 under the tag, which is actually an affordable price for a player of Byrd’s caliber. The ball-hawking, shutdown covering FS picked off five passes last season, and quarterbacks are extremely leery about taking deep shots with Byrd patrolling the secondary.

Jairus Byrd is now officially off the market, and the Bills and Byrd have until mid-July to get a long-term deal done. I’m sure they will, because the Bills fully realize just how important Byrd is to the success of their team. The move to franchise Byrd was, quite honestly, an obvious decision, even for a team that wanted to take a more conservative approach with the use of the franchise tag.

Some wondered if the 26-year-old (I can’t believe he’s that young) wanted to test his value on the open market, and I wouldn’t blame him given his value and what he would command as a free agent and the best FS in the NFL. Byrd will instead get a cheap franchise tag deal, and you can bet that he will want to get a long-term deal done with Buffalo. The Bills and Byrd, by the way, only started negotiating at the Combine so I’m guessing not enough progress was made in those few days.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Buffalo Bills have not talked to Ryan Fitzpatrick about restructuring deal

Joe Soriano — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:19:51 +0000

Buffalo Bills assistant GM Doug Whaley spoke about how the 2013 NFL Draft does not contain any quarterbacks who have the “total package”, which is a notable opinion coming from a respected exec on a team that holds the No. 8 pick in the draft and has a need for a quarterback. Bills head coach Doug Marrone said after the Bills re-signed backup Tarvaris Jackson that Fitzpatrick and Jackson would have a quarterback competition.

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

However, the prevailing thought is that the Bills will draft a QB to bring in with their two veterans on the roster. During the season, Buddy Nix stated that Fitzpatrick “was not the answer” and basically said that he wanted the Bills to draft a new QB. Nix isn’t the guy calling the shots anymore even if he wasn’t fired as GM, but he does have a point. Neither Fitzpatrick nor Jackson is the answer, and Whaley did say that the QBs in this class could be developed. I have a feeling the Bills will select a QB with potential that they like the most if they are available after the first round.

Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s job is still not safe, as the Buffalo News writes. Russ Brandon declined to commit on Fitzpatrick’s future with the team, and he is due a $3 million roster bonus next month, as Tim Graham notes. Fitzpatrick would be cheaper to release than keep, but Brandon said that it’s Marrone’s and Nix’s decision to make. He also added that the Bills and Fitzpatrick have not yet spoken about restructuring his hefty contract.

Brandon also said, via Graham, that the Bills will only use the franchise tag as a “last resort” this offseason. Brandon called the franchise tag “an asset”, but told Graham that it can destroy a team’s salary cap situation. Jairus Byrd is the Bills headlining free agent, and the Bills will do everything they can to lock up perhaps the NFL’s best free safety. If they can’t get a long term deal done, then the relatively cheap $6.8 million franchise tag associated with Byrd will be an option for Buffalo.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.