The Saints made Jairus Byrd the highest-paid safety in the game when they handed him a six-year, $54 million contract that included $18.3 million fully guaranteed last offseason. That deal has since been surpassed by Earl Thomas and Devin McCourty.
Byrd appeared to be damaged goods. He immediately needed back surgery to repair a herniated disc, causing him to miss most of the offseason program. Byrd was ready for the season opener and played in the first four games before tearing his meniscus and missing the rest of the year.
“The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is just a full offseason. Just being out there, being around the guys, going through everything and just staying healthy,” Byrd told ESPN. “A lot of it, if we’re really gonna go back, I would really put a lot of the blame on myself.”
Even when he was on the field, Byrd was a big part of the problem on the back end of New Orleans’ defense. Now 100 percent healthy and ready for a full offseason, Byrd is poised to remove his name from the list of free-agent busts and become a leader for the Saints.
He’s still just 28 and didn’t suffer any torn knee ligaments when shredding his meniscus, which should allow the Saints to feel more comfortable that they’ll be able to get some return on their investment.