Tribe added roughly two wins by platooning players in 2013
March 10, 2014Jets expressing interest in TJ Ward
March 10, 2014The Cleveland Browns could very well be losing SS T.J. Ward to free agency, but are thought to be very interested in acquiring former Buffalo Bills FS Jairus Byrd. Byrd is a three time Pro Bowl player that new head coach Mike Pettine worked with in Buffalo.
Byrd reportedly turned down lucrative contract extension offers from the Bills, looking to test the free agent market.
According to an ESPN report, we now know the magic number it may take to sign Byrd.
“Free agent Jairus Byrd is aiming to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid safeties when he hits the open market Tuesday. A source tells ESPN.com Byrd is seeking a long-term deal in the range of $9 million per season.”
In that same piece, potential suitors for Byrd’s services include the Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Browns were not mentioned.
[Related: The Browns have a lot of money, so why not spend it all]
8 Comments
As I’ve already asked on the twitterwebs today, how is this news? Last week, when the Bills didn’t tag him, it was reported Byrd turned down 3 years/ 30 mil from Buffalo. He was upset when he got tagged last year and had to play for 8 million (or whatever the tag # was). Seemed fairly obvious 9 million was a starting point for the Byrd negotiations, no matter which teams were in on it.
I hope…I really REALLY hope that the browns were aware of this and are prepared to pony up the dough, or they have a damned good backup plan ready to go, because if they let Ward get to FA thinking they’d sign Byrd for less than top safety money, then my happy time (that started the day Lombardi and banner were canned) might come to an end, and I really don’t want to do that.
The Browns have reportedly not contacted Byrd yet. Now, it could very well be that we are utilizing the negotiating period to our advantage. We know what Byrd wants and we also know the likelihood of if he could get it or not (at least we better). So, if he’s not likely to get it, then rather than insult him with our true offer, we let him see his market value, then call him today and let him know Pettine loves him and really wants him in Cleveland, but it’s gotta be at price $X.
At least, that’s my best guess. But, I agree that we better not lose Ward w/o getting Byrd. I don’t want to have a huge downgrade at S this year.
One has to remember before one panics about salary that the salary cap has gone up and will continue to go up. Players are, as they should, going to leverage this for bigger contracts. If the Browns sign someone like Byrd for $9 million, I have no idea whether he’s good enough for that, but it’s not necessarily overpaying if a Pro Bowler gets a contract for higher than the past market rate. A better metric would be the market rate plus the average expected increase of the cap over the life of the contract. So, if a premium safety makes $8 million currently, and the cap goes up let’s say 12% over three years, $9 million becomes about what one would expect.
If it weren’t for a slightly checkered injury history, I’d go ahead and say Byrd is worth every penny.
Ah, economics.
Here’s hoping that Pettine made a good impression in Buffalo. I love me some happy time. I still think if they could reunite the Ducks safety duo it would take a lot of pressure off of whoever ends up as our CB2. A boy can dream…
longer, faster, cheaper.
i vote chris clemons for FS, please.
I would not be opposed to Clemons.