Statement from Whaley on Byrd

[MidnightVoice]

http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2013/07/15/statement-from-whaley-on-byrd/

Here is Bills GM Doug Whaley’s statement on franchise player Jairus Byrd and the inability to get a long term contract agreement completed prior to today’s 4 pm deadline.

“We worked very hard to come to a long-term agreement with Jairus, but unfortunately, were unable to
reach one before today’s deadline,” said Whaley. “Our attention will now be focused on a one-year agreement with him and on Training Camp with our continued efforts to prepare our team for the upcoming season.”


http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Long-term-deal-deadline-for-Byrd-passes/df089684-feb6-4b72-be6b-e990e9ab40ef


After designating Bills safety Jairus Byrd their franchise player with the tender in March, the two sides had until 4 p.m. Monday to negotiate a long term contract agreement. That deadline however, came and went without a multi-year pact completed.

“We worked very hard to come to a long-term agreement with Jairus, but unfortunately were unable to reach one before today’s deadline,” said Bills GM Doug Whaley in a statement issued after the 4 p.m. deadline passed. “Our attention will now be focused on a one-year agreement with him and on training camp with our continued efforts to prepare our team for the upcoming season.”

By league rule the Bills will not be able to complete a contract extension with Byrd now until the end of the regular season at the earliest.

Byrd now has only one option as far as playing for the Bills for the 2013 season is concerned, and that’s to sign his one-year franchise tender. That would guarantee his salary at $6.9 million for the season.

When and if he chooses to make that decision is something that he and his agent only know at this point.

If he elects not to sign the franchise tender prior to training camp Byrd would not be considered a holdout and could not be fined by the Bills. That’s because until he signs the tender he is not under contract and is technically a free agent.

Signing and trading Byrd is an option, but Byrd would have to sign his one-year tender with the Bills before a trade could be orchestrated. At that point in time the Pro Bowl safety could be traded to another club for agreed upon compensation.

The compensation does not necessarily have to be a pair of first-round draft choices as specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement for a franchise player, provided the two clubs involved agree to less than that.

[BillsFever21]

I say look for a trading partner. This team isn't competing this season and the inability of the front office to sign him to an extension puts us in this predicament. No matter what he will most likely be gone after this year anyway. We're not going to the playoffs and definitely not competing for a championship this season so it only makes sense to try and get a 2nd round pick for him.

If he is only going to be around for one season why even waste the money and the playing time that could go to our younger guys to see what we have in them. That would give us a chance this year to see what our rookie safeties and Aaron Williams have to offer. That would hep us big time in determining whether we need to find a better replacement next season and use a draft pick on one. It wouldn't be worth signing a free agent if we didn't sign Byrd and already have a couple rookies on the team along with the horrendous Aaron Williams.

If Aaron Williams turns into an average safety that would set the Bills up perfectly in a couple years to giving him 5-6 million a year instead of paying 8+ million for the premium player. That's usually how they work. Sign a couple average guys without much guaranteed money instead of keeping one top player and using a cheaper reliable rookie/free agents to fill in another spot on the team to make up the difference in cap space.

[T-Long]

I still don't understand why this is such a big deal. He is not going to sit out and leave 7 million on the table. He is going to sign his tender, then play for us in 2013. If he skips camp, then he skips camp. That's more reps for the younger guys...he will be more than ready to play in 2013 because he wants that big pay day.

[BillsFever21]

I still don't understand why this is such a big deal. He is not going to sit out and leave 7 million on the table. He is going to sign his tender, then play for us in 2013. If he skips camp, then he skips camp. That's more reps for the younger guys...he will be more than ready to play in 2013 because he wants that big pay day.

The big deal is that it's about more then just this season. This team isn't good enough to compete this year and we're hoping/dreaming of building a winning team that can compete in a couple years and for the long-term after that. That's just about any teams goal in the NFL.

Having Byrd for one season doesn't achieve any of them goals. Big deal if we get him for one losing season if he's gone afterwards. Good young players like Byrd are the type you want to keep around to help try and build a winning franchise. Letting them walk just leaves you wasting other draft picks on a guy to try and replace him which odds are won't nearly be as good or a turnover machine and game changer like he was.

How many times do the Bills find a quality starter and trade him for peanuts or just let him walk. Then the following season we're using a high draft pick to try and replace him when that draft pick could've went to another position. Not only are you losing the good starter but you aren't upgrading any other positions on the team with that draft pick. It ends up being a double whammy.

It's just like what we've done with RB's over the past decade. We use a first rounder to draft McGahee who plays alright and then trade him a few years later for middle round draft picks. Then the following season we use another high first round pick on Marshawn Lynch and a few years later we basically give him away by only getting a 4th rounder for him.

That same year we use a Top 10 draft pick on another RB in CJ Spiller(who I love but still) even when we already had Jackson on the team. If their intentions were to trade Lynch then we didn't need a RB drafted that high just to barely play him. Then to make matters worse they barely use him for two years(outside of the end of his 2nd season due to injury to Jackson) and then underuse him in his third season when he is having a breakout campaign. That was basically 3 first round picks on RB's in about an 8 year span.

There are many other examples with other positions but that is the best example that can be used. Instead of using our draft picks to try and build a team we need to just keep using them to replace positions that we already had filled because for whatever reasons we didn't pay them or would end up trading them on the cheap. If that wasn't the case then it's because the other high pick was just a flat out bust.

This type of management is the reason why we continue to tread water. We don't get any better or even much worse. We just keep staying the same every year. If you keep your best important players around you can use your draft picks on upgrading other positions to build a team for a 5+ year window of opportunity of competing for a championship. Instead we just sit there 10-20 million under the salary cap almost every season for the past decade outside of a few seasons when we would sign a high priced free agent(s).

[BertSquirtgum]

Byrd is a scumbag

[Albany,n.y.]

Byrd is a scumbag

Don't hate the player, hate the game. All he is doing is trying to maximize his value.

[T-Long]

All valid points, but it's not just for this season. The Bills can franchise him again next year, so we will have him guaranteed for 2 more seasons if we want him. If he still doesn't get a deal worked out, then what can they do? I have no problem believing that this staff wants Byrd on the team, but will not overpay him. I want him on this team just as much as the next guy, but having him for 2 more seasons (if they wish) and being able to work out a long term deal in those 2 years is something I am confident in.

[BillsFever21]

All valid points, but it's not just for this season. The Bills can franchise him again next year, so we will have him guaranteed for 2 more seasons if we want him. If he still doesn't get a deal worked out, then what can they do? I have no problem believing that this staff wants Byrd on the team, but will not overpay him. I want him on this team just as much as the next guy, but having him for 2 more seasons (if they wish) and being able to work out a long term deal in those 2 years is something I am confident in.

After what happened with other players getting tagged for 2 or 3 seasons in a row it's very uncommon that any player signs the franchise tag without a clause that they become an unrestricted free agent the following season. Especially a top player at his position that can get a hefty payday on the open market if the team he is on isn't willing to give it to him.

Even if we did tag him for a 2nd season that still doesn't fit into our long-term plans. If everything did happen to work out and we improved then he would be gone the season after we start improving and ready to take the next step as a playoff team. Either way it doesn't work out and he's somebody you would want here for the next 5 years while you are trying to build that regular playoff contender to try and give yourself a window of opportunity to win a championship.

It can work out for you if you are young, continue to play well and don't suffer any injuries. If you get tagged twice then your salary goes up in the 2nd year even more. Then after that if you can still sign a big money deal then you end up making more money when it's all said and done.

These guys are one play/injury away from either never being the same player again or never playing again period. They want to cash in on the guaranteed money when they have the chance. They don't have 100% guaranteed contracts like they do in the other sports and they are more prone to having a major injury while they are waiting for that contract.

Most positions also have a much shorter shelf life too then if you're a basketball or baseball player. These guys aren't going to see huge contracts after 30 years old and many of them are lucky to still be playing after 32 or so. Positions like QB are the exception along with certain iron man players. The vast majority only have that one chance to cash in. I don't fault them one bit for wanting to get paid when they have the chance.

[The Toe Show]

Whaley is open for business on Byrd and rolling the dice with (4) Duke Williams and (5) Jonathan Meeks. Maybe those guys are better fits for the new D scheme?


16547

[kishoph]

Whaley is open for business on Byrd and rolling the dice with (4) Duke Williams and (5) Jonathan Meeks. Maybe those guys are better fits for the new D scheme?


16547


This is what I'm thinking in a way, maybe it's not that Williams or Meeks will be a better fit, but the difference between them does not justify the money Byrd wants. Even though this staff has not worked with Byrd, they have every piece of film on him to decide if he is that important to their scheme to pay him that kind of money and obviously they feel he's not. In his 4 years, Byrd's had 2 very average years and has not shown the consistency to be a top paid player at his position. Byrd is the only player of the 8 franchised not to accept his tender, if he decides to hold out of camp, I'd rather not have him at all.

[better days]

All valid points, but it's not just for this season. The Bills can franchise him again next year, so we will have him guaranteed for 2 more seasons if we want him. If he still doesn't get a deal worked out, then what can they do? I have no problem believing that this staff wants Byrd on the team, but will not overpay him. I want him on this team just as much as the next guy, but having him for 2 more seasons (if they wish) and being able to work out a long term deal in those 2 years is something I am confident in.

Yes the Bills can franchise him again next year & keep him for another year, but I think it is time to cut bait myself.

People bring up Peters when dealing with Parker, well I think the Bills made out damn good with the Peters deal.

I would like to have Byrd on the Bills, but not at the amount of money he is demanding.

Trade him for the best offer IMO. Hell, they traded Lynch for a damn 4th rnd pick. IMO, Lynch is a BETTER player than Byrd.

[jdaltroy5]

Yes the Bills can franchise him again next year & keep him for another year, but I think it is time to cut bait myself.

People bring up Peters when dealing with Parker, well I think the Bills made out damn good with the Peters deal.

I would like to have Byrd on the Bills, but not at the amount of money he is demanding.

Trade him for the best offer IMO. Hell, they traded Lynch for a damn 4th rnd pick. IMO, Lynch is a BETTER player than Byrd.
They made out damn well with the Peters deal?

Peters has been an All-Pro twice and been to the pro bowl 3 times since he's been gone. Most people would call him the best all around LT in the game.

In that same time frame we've tried Walker, Bell, Hairston, Levitre, and Glenn at LT. The only one that has even looked CLOSE to Peters is Glenn and we used the 33rd overall pick to get. Only 5 spots lower than the pick we received when we traded Peters.

In return we got Wood who has been good when healthy, Shawn Nelson (who did nothing), and Danny Batten (who did nothing).

So no, we didn't do very well with the Jason Peters trade.

Sure saved a lot of money though.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Trade him for the best offer IMO. Hell, they traded Lynch for a damn 4th rnd pick. IMO, Lynch is a BETTER player than Byrd.

Are you actually hyping that deal up? That was one of the worst fleecings in the league!

[better days]

They made out damn well with the Peters deal?

Peters has been an All-Pro twice and been to the pro bowl 3 times since he's been gone. Most people would call him the best all around LT in the game.

In that same time frame we've tried Walker, Bell, Hairston, Levitre, and Glenn at LT. The only one that has even looked CLOSE to Peters is Glenn and we used the 33rd overall pick to get. Only 5 spots lower than the pick we received when we traded Peters.

In return we got Wood who has been good when healthy, Shawn Nelson (who did nothing), and Danny Batten (who did nothing).

So no, we didn't do very well with the Jason Peters trade.

Sure saved a lot of money though.

And what did the Eagles get? A player that is often injured in Peters & is looking for more money from the Eagles now.

[BertSquirtgum]

Don't hate the player, hate the game. All he is doing is trying to maximize his value.

Well I'm starting to hate the player just like I started to hate Peters when he pulled this ****.

[jdaltroy5]

And what did the Eagles get? A player that is often injured in Peters & is looking for more money from the Eagles now.
No, they got a player that was an all pro twice and who injured himself training in the offseason.

You wanna bring up injuries? Look who we got in return for Peters.

[Mike]

Well I'm starting to hate the player just like I started to hate Peters when he pulled this ****.

The blind nepotism is quite inane.
I don't know what you do for a living but when your current employer is, by all accounts, 3rd rate and they offer you a salary that is 20-35% bellow your pay grade and what other class A organizations are offering, what would you do?

Would you take $100,000
working for Google

Or $65,000
working for ****Co

[Bill Cody]

They made out damn well with the Peters deal?

Peters has been an All-Pro twice and been to the pro bowl 3 times since he's been gone. Most people would call him the best all around LT in the game.

In that same time frame we've tried Walker, Bell, Hairston, Levitre, and Glenn at LT. The only one that has even looked CLOSE to Peters is Glenn and we used the 33rd overall pick to get. Only 5 spots lower than the pick we received when we traded Peters.

In return we got Wood who has been good when healthy, Shawn Nelson (who did nothing), and Danny Batten (who did nothing).

So no, we didn't do very well with the Jason Peters trade.

Sure saved a lot of money though.

I get wood just knowing that cancer Peters isn't on our team. It may take some time but I have a good feeling Marrone will build up the Bills brand at which point the worm will turn with our free agents and ones we want to bring in from other teams. Some guys don't want to be in Buffalo so they ask for the moon and the stars to stay. I say F em. No player is irreplaceable. NE doesn't beg anyone to stay. Peters wants to hold out with 2 years left on the contract that HE signed and turns down a new deal 8-9m a year? Toodles. Byrd wants to pretend he's Ed Reed and won't sign for a penny less? Get what you can and move on. We need guys that want to be here not I-me-my types. Just my opinion.

[Bill Cody]

The blind nepotism is quite inane.
I don't know what you do for a living but when your current employer is, by all accounts, 3rd rate and they offer you a salary that is 20-35% bellow your pay grade and what other class A organizations are offering, what would you do?

Would you take $100,000
working for Google

Or $65,000
working for ****Co

Know what's inane? Pretending Peters was a free agent on the market. HE WASN'T. The Bills were offering to do something they didn't have to do. Yet your sympathies lie with the player who wasn't even drafted, was developed into a new position by the Bills, and was asking to be the top paid LT in the league after one good year. Got it.

[Bill Cody]

Are you actually hyping that deal up? That was one of the worst fleecings in the league!

The only way that could be true is if we intentionally declined better offers or didn't bother to seek other offers. Is that what you think? If not, how was it a fleecing, it's what the market would bear for Lynch, a guy who had worn out his welcome here. Lynch was another guy that had a bad attitude when he was here, got into trouble and didn't want to be here. I say adios.

Believe me I understand that you are not going to get all choir boys for pro football but in the end what you have to have is players that you can count on. The Patriots knew this for a long time but clearly they have forgotten this in recent years and it's bitten them in the ass hard. The mistake we made with Lynch was ever drafting him. It was tragic that we were one pick away from getting Patrick Willis.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

The only way that could be true is if we intentionally declined better offers or didn't bother to seek other offers. Is that what you think? If not, how was it a fleecing, it's what the market would bear for Lynch, a guy who had worn out his welcome here. Lynch was another guy that had a bad attitude when he was here, got into trouble and didn't want to be here. I say adios.

We dealt a guy who has since made two pro bowls for a 4th and a 6th. He's now easily a Top 5 back in the NFL and a crucial piece of a Super Bowl contending team. He has wildly outperformed the guy we used a Top 10 pick on to replace him.

That's a fleecing by any defintion. Go ask a Seattle fan how they feel about the trade now.

[Bill Cody]

We dealt a guy who has since made two pro bowls for a 4th and a 6th. He's now easily a Top 5 back in the NFL and a crucial piece of a Super Bowl contending team. He has wildly outperformed the guy we used a Top 10 pick on to replace him.

That's a fleecing by any defintion. Go ask a Seattle fan how they feel about the trade now.


He wouldn't have done that here. He was a miserable beotch here. He had to go. We got what we could. End of story.

[Mike]

The thing that annoys me most is that it's pretty obvious how things are going to unfold. Ironically, in spit of this, the Bills lack vision.

1) Lynch: With Fred coming on strong the Bills could have and should have trades Lynch after his PB season. I even wrote a post on it, obviously the Bills should have more vision than mio.

2) Fred Jackson: before 2012 season started and after Spiller showed his ability towards end of pervious season, I suggested they trade Fred. A year later, more and more posters are suggesting the same. Problem is, he is an year older and his value has decreased. Now it's worth keeping him.

3) Byrd: Bills didn't have to wait until this year to work something out. They could have gotten him for that 6-7mil/yr if they tried to extend him 1.5 years ago. But again they lacked the vision and were too cheap.

4) Peters: Bills didn't have to fold like a cheap tent at his demands, but yet they did and in the process got fleeced. They could have made him play out his contract and franchises him 2x thus having him for 4yrs! Instead they got Wood, a player that is good but often suffers from injuries and is no where close in value to Peters (ask any GM who they'd prefer)

* Overall, it's becoming abundantly clear that the Bills don't know how to handle marque players.

[SpikedLemonade]

I think the bigger problem we have is that a lot of our players don't want to play for us.

Until we have a new owner with a modern vision, that is just the way it is going to be.

Russ Brandon belongs in the minor leagues and not in the NFL.

[Bert102176]

I say ask around if you can get a team like the jags that u know will suck and make sure it will be a 1st rnd pick

[better days]

I think the bigger problem we have is that a lot of our players don't want to play for us.

Until we have a new owner with a modern vision, that is just the way it is going to be.

Russ Brandon belongs in the minor leagues and not in the NFL.

I think a new Coach.......................Marrone, may change how players feel about playing in Buffalo more than anything.

[DraftBoy]

I think a new Coach.......................Marrone, may change how players feel about playing in Buffalo more than anything.

Weren't people saying the same thing about Gailey, Dick, and the rest of the band of idiots.

[better days]

Weren't people saying the same thing about Gailey, Dick, and the rest of the band of idiots.

NO, not really. I think Marrone is the first Coach since Wade that had players BILLIEVING in him.

And I was not a fan of his hire at the time, not that I was of Chan or Dick either, but the more I see of Marrone, the more happy I am with him & I think the players are buying in to the new culture he is bringing to the Bills.

[better days]

Are you actually hyping that deal up? That was one of the worst fleecings in the league!

I agree. I was not in favor of that trade at all. My point was Lynch is a BETTER player than Byrd & they got rid of him.

If Byrd does not want to be in Buffalo, which it looks like that is the case, I think it would be better for the team to not have a malcontent on it.

I would trade him & hope for a better deal than they got for Lynch.

[better days]

We dealt a guy who has since made two pro bowls for a 4th and a 6th. He's now easily a Top 5 back in the NFL and a crucial piece of a Super Bowl contending team. He has wildly outperformed the guy we used a Top 10 pick on to replace him.

That's a fleecing by any defintion. Go ask a Seattle fan how they feel about the trade now.

I was not in favor of the trade at the time, but Lynch is in trouble AGAIN. And he got in trouble RIGHT AFTER the Hawks signed him to a NEW BIG contract. After it all plays out Lynch will likely be suspended 8 games, maybe even an entire year. Lets ask Seattle fans about Lynch after the whip comes down.