The Bills and safety Jairus Byrd spent most of last offseason staying far apart from each other after the Bills used their franchise tag on Byrd and the two sides couldn’t agree on a long-term contract.
Byrd eventually reported to camp, but quickly hurt his foot and missed the first chunk of the season. There was trade talk around the deadline and some airing of grievances from Byrd as well and the sheer weight of all it made it seem highly unlikely that Byrd would be back with the team in 2014.
Byrd’s play remained strong in the 11 games he did play, though, and he made the Pro Bowl last week. That’s led Bills General Manager Doug Whaley said he and CEO Russ Brandon have decided to make a push to bring Byrd back despite the unpleasant way things played out last year.
“We’ve had a conversation -- myself and Russ -- sat and talked to Jairus, and we’re gonna make an offer to the guy and we’re gonna try to keep him,” Whaley said, via WGR550.com. “We’re gonna try to the best of abilities because we’re in the business of collecting good players and he’s a good player.”
Byrd reportedly wanted to be the highest paid safety in football last year, a case the Bills didn’t buy. Byrd’s play this season probably didn’t do much to hurt his opinion of his value, so things may not wind up going much more smoothly this time around.