Over the weekend, we passed along a report that there was no progress on a contract for Bills safety Jairus Byrd.
There might not be much need to keep the light on waiting for updates. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News backs up that report with one of his own that the Bills are “not close” to signing Byrd, who got the franchise tag earlier this offseason, and that there aren’t any talks scheduled this week. Players with franchise tags must sign long-term deals with their teams by July 15 or wait until after the 2013 season comes to an end.
Beyond that, Graham reports that no talks are expected between the Bills and agent Eugene Parker this week. That would leave Byrd, who joins Broncos tackle Ryan Clady as the only franchised players yet to sign their tenders, with a couple of choices. He can sign the tag and play out the year for $6.916 million or hold out until the post-Week 10 deadline to report and accrue the season he’d need to become an unrestricted free agent again after the 2013 season.
The first option seems more likely since it would have the best chance of bolstering his case for a big contract in Buffalo or elsewhere, but we’ll find out soon enough which door Byrd decides to walk through.