Wood’s Deal A Slap In The Face To Byrd?

Nov 15, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills center Eric Wood (70) prior to a game against the Miami Dolphins at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo won the game 19-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday the Bills had some news aside from the knowing cuts that were going to occur. The team announced an extension for center Eric Wood. He’s has been the leader of this line for some years now and looks to be for the foreseeable future. With this happening one of my thoughts was what does Jairus Byrd think about the extension?

Since being tagged the story of the holdout and not being able to reach a deal has been going on for some time now. Not knowing when he was going to report, would he report and also could he get up to speed with this new defense were questions everyone heard quite often. Aside from that I always questioned if he still wanted to play in Buffalo? The demands of the money he requested I think was pretty high for a guy that really hasn’t done anything outstanding. I’m not saying he’s bad but no playoff games and who’s to say he’s not a system guy? What I mean is he has been the best player in the backfield maybe not with Gilmore now but what if he becomes the 3rd best player in a team’s backfield. Does he continue to play this well or does he fade into just an average player. Those questions are ones no one really can answer but some team no doubt would be spending the money if he became available. To me it all comes down to the player wanting to play for a team. I know they all have agents and their trying to do their job for there clients but personal preference is something those agents can’t always take care of. That being said the players have the ultimate say where they want to play.

On the other of this is the signing of Eric Wood. Going into the last year of his deal Wood wanted to get the distracting issue out of the way and just play football. “All along I knew I wanted to stay here, I’m comfortable here.” Those words are the type of things this new organizations front office wants to hear as they begin to get this team to where it was years ago. Reports have surfaced that the deal could for 4 years but haven’t heard or found anything confirming that yet. I think all in all this deal is very good for this team as Wood is a leader and a very good player. The only thing that scares me is the injury problems Wood has had to endure. Leg injuries for linemen are nothing to look past so I would imagine there’s something in the contract.

So back to the question if this matters to Byrd when he sees Wood get his extension. I think it shows bad against him as Wood didn’t put himself above anything other than what he wanted to do. He wanted to stay in Buffalo and that’s exactly where he’ll be. If people say he’s not in the same category as Byrd I could see Wood being agreeably put in the top 5 centers in the league. Byrd to me is probably gone after seasons end but don’t let him go without getting anything. Trade for someone to immediately use or for next year’s draft. I’m not fan of a player getting offered a pretty high amount of money and refusing to sign until the rest of the money he thinks he should get is paid. I know it sports now but what about just playing the game because you were gifted enough to make the NFL.