We know that Bills General Manager Buddy Nix is thinking about quarterbacks these days and we also know what he hasn’t been thinking about.
That would be safety Jairus Byrd, who, as expected, did not report for the start of the team’s offseason workouts this week. Byrd has not signed the franchise tender that the Bills placed on him earlier this offseason, which makes it no surprise that he’s opted out of the team’s voluntary workouts.
Byrd would like to sign a long-term deal with the team, but Nix didn’t inspire much optimism about that happening in the near future. While the team would like to reach an agreement, Nix said that Byrd’s absence isn’t keeping him up at night.
“There’s been some contact, and we’re making some effort to try to get a long-term deal done with Jairus. But -- and I don’t mean this in a bad way -- I haven’t given it much thought,” Nix said, via Tim Graham of the Buffalo News. “I don’t mean that we’re not interested because we certainly need him, and eventually he’ll probably be here. But it’s nothing we can do except try to get a contract done, and if it doesn’t work, then the ball’s in his court. He comes when, basically, he gets ready. What we’re trying to do is get our guys ready that we got here, and we got them all here but one, so that’s not bad.”
The two sides have until July 15th to reach a long-term agreement and Nix’s stance suggests there’s not much urgency on Buffalo’s part to make something happen right away. Assuming Byrd feels the same way about signing the tag, status quo will rule the day a while longer.