Jairus Byrd Can See Himself Out Of Buffalo

Sep 18, 2011; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Oakland Raiders tight end Brandon Myers (83) tries to elude Buffalo Bills cornerback Jairus Byrd (31) at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills defeated the Raiders 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

As training camp is literately days away Bills fans heard the news that Jairus Byrd will not be reporting this weekend. The report from Tim Graham had said he was told Byrd would not be at St John Fisher with the rest of his teammates. That was it for me and as far as I’m concerned he’s as good as gone.

Along with the report that came out about him not attending the start of training camp the news that said he hasn’t even been in contact with the Bills in over a month is just terrible. What in anyway shape or form tells you that this guy wants to be back with this team. This guy has gone from a player I liked to watch and follow to guy I will now care less about.

Another thing that just has me thinking is how a player can just hold out and not play with money sitting on the table. In Byrd’s case he is still looking at 6.9 million if he plays under the tag. You have kids that are doing everything possible to even get that chance to play in the NFL and we have players rejecting nearly 7 million? I know he is looking for stability and the guaranteed money but does Byrd really deserve all that money yet? In no way am I saying he’s not in the top 5 of his position but the new coaching staff I believe wants to see him play in their new system. Will he continue to play very well or will he just blend in with the rest of the secondary. This obviously isn’t something Jairus wants but I think it’s fair.

So as we wait till this weekend when camp starts Byrd will definitely be thinking if he’s truly making the right choice. With his agent fully engaged I don’t think he really can say nor do anything now. If I were the Bills I wouldn’t even let him play should he finally report. Show players that nobody is going to bully the team around. To really prove a point even though it would never happen I would also franchise him again next year. The Bills wouldn’t because of the money but I would then just bench him and let him watch from the sidelines. I hope the NFL can eventually do something to eliminate these cases one day because I believe it doesn’t look good. What do you think about Byrd?