The New Orleans Saints invested $54 million in Jairus Byrd in one of their offseason free agency moves. The former Buffalo Bills safety was placed on injured reserve on Friday due to a torn lateral meniscus in his knee.
Unfortunately for Byrd and New Orleans, the safety was only able to play in four games this season before having to hang up his cleats. Byrd suffered the injury Thursday's practice and underwent surgery that was performed by Dr. James Andrews on Friday. He ended his season with 22 tackles, two passes defended and a forced fumble in games against the Falcons, Browns, Vikings and Cowboys.
This is a huge loss for an already terrible New Orleans defense. The Saints have given up 110 points (27th in the NFL) and 1,584 yards (28th in the NFL) in four games this season and the team has a -6 turnover ratio. Aside from middle linebacker Curtis Lofton, both Byrd and fellow safety Kenny Vaccaro ranked next on the team in total tackles. Vaccaro voiced that Byrd's absence would be a big loss for the Saints, calling him a great player and great teammate, but he has confidence in Rafael Bush, who will be replacing Byrd.
"You know, it's terrible for the young man. He worked so hard. That's tough," Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said, in this ESPN article. "But for us, in football, it's the tough part of this business. Guys get injured, and you have to step up and move on. And that's what we've done. He's loved by his teammates and his coaches. ... But we'll be ready to go."
The Saints defense has already had enough trouble causing turnovers, and now they'll be without Byrd, who forced a total of 34 turnovers since his rookie year in 2009. New Orleans gave him $9 million per year because of his ball-hawking skills, but now Rob Ryan will have to formulate another scheme to stop opposing offenses.
New Orleans will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Byrd's father, Gill Byrd, is the cornerbacks coach for Tampa Bay, but he won't be able to see his son on the field.
