New Orleans Saints place Jairus Byrd on IR
By Josh Hill
New Orleans Saints safety Jairus Byrd was signed in the offseason to help the defense, but his season has come to a premature end.
The New Orleans Saints have placed free agent acquisition Jairus Byrd on IR, effectively ending his first season with his new team. The safety came to New Orleans in the offseason after spending his career up to this point with the Buffalo Bills and his arrival was a bit of a surprise.
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New Orleans was pinching pennies at the time to try and give tight end Jimmy Graham a new contract, but ended up shelling out a huge free agent contract to Byrd instead. It was a surprising move, but the Saints walked away big winners with a safety that Rob Ryan coveted for his system.
So far this year it has been great for Byrd but this injury has derailed things in more than one way for the Saints. The defense was nevertheless losing games, despite Byrd’s play, and his injury now sets him back too. What it does prove though is that his free agent deal is personally paying off. Had he been on another qualifying offer from the Bills, his injury would have dropped his value.
As it stands, he still has his long term deal with the Saints, and the team is going to start looking ahead to having him next season now that this one is over.
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