Archives for July 16, 2013

‘”Honestly all we’ve talked about is the tempo is going to be fast. Coach Hackett he’s up there talking during meetings and he’s super fast when he’s speaking,” said Stevie Johnson. “On the field we’re getting plays off every eight to 10 seconds.”‘

‘The next date for the Bills to watch is July 26, when players report to St. John Fisher for training camp. Without a contract, however, Byrd won’t be there and can’t be fined for missing practices or preseason games.’

‘A person familiar with the details of the negotiations said there were no talks today.’

‘Byrd skipped the Bills’ mandatory minicamp last month, and said at the time he’d stay away from the team until he has a contract. He has yet to sign his one-year, $6.9 million franchise tender.’

‘Now the two sides may only agree on a one-year contract, whether it be Byrd signing his one-year tender or the parties working out a separate one-year deal. Since Byrd has yet to sign his tender, he and his agent, Eugene Parker, could push to put language in to the contract to keep the Bills from placing the franchise tag on the safety again in 2014.’

‘Due to that ambiguity and lack of expectation, the Bills are likely quite hesitant to re-sign a player like Byrd to the safety of long-term, guaranteed contract. Byrd excelled in Dave Wannstedt’s vanilla 4-3 defense last year. Will he do the same in Mike Pettine’s brand new, aggressive scheme?’

‘”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.”‘