Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes says he still isn’t 100 percent recovered from the foot injury that kept him out for most of last season and the entire preseason, but he’s been in the lineup and his 69-yard touchdown catch beat the Bills last weekend.
Had safety Jairus Byrd been in the Buffalo lineup, perhaps things would have played out differently. Byrd hasn’t been in the lineup at all for the Bills this year because of his own foot problem and, unlike Holmes, Byrd won’t be taking a step on the field until he’s certain that he’s 100 percent.
Bills coach Doug Marrone said Wednesday that Byrd, who missed the entire offseason and almost all of the preseason before signing his franchise tender, is working “extremely hard” to get back but that he can’t get past one last hurdle so that he’s able to play. Byrd said that the decision about when to play is up to him and that he won’t be making it at anything less than full strength.
“No,” Byrd said, via Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News. “I mean, I don’t want to see them do bad. I’ve said that since Day One. But me going out there at less than 100 percent isn’t going to help the case, either. I can’t do anything about it. That’s the tough part.”
The Bills could really use Byrd right now. Cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Ron Brooks will be out again and Leodis McKelvin may join them on the sideline after injuring his hamstring against the Jets, stretching the depth of the entire secondary and possibly forcing Aaron Williams back to corner from safety. Whether with his franchise tender or his foot, however, Byrd’s made it clear that things are happening on his needs and desires.
