In the weeks since Bills safety Jairus Byrd signed his franchise tender and reported to the Bills, there haven’t been too many moments when it seemed like he was itching to get into the Buffalo lineup.
Since injuring his foot, Byrd has said that he won’t play until he feels 100 percent and he’s generally put forth an attitude that he’ll do what it takes to get through this year so that he can land a long-term deal after the season. That changed a bit on Thursday night, however, as Byrd said he felt well enough to play against the Browns before getting told by coach Doug Marrone that he wouldn’t be playing after practicing fully for the first time this year on Tuesday.
“I think it’s my responsibility to make sure that we put a player out there that goes full speed for a full week,” Marrone said, via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. “If it was a Sunday game, I think it could have been different for us, but on a short week right before ... I was happy that he could do it, and I appreciate that. Now we’ll get him in there and get him practicing and get him ready to go.”
Tim Graham of the Buffalo News said on PFT Live earlier this week that Byrd told him that the decision about playing rested with the safety, something that was either an exaggeration or altered on Thursday night by Marrone. Barring a setback with the foot, it would seem Byrd’s on track to play against the Bengals in Week Six.