Jairus Keelon Byrd (born October 7, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft. He is a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Early life Byrd attended Clayton High School in St. Louis County, Missouri. He played quarterback, wide receiver, safety and special teams. As a senior, he was the Missouri 4A offensive player of the year and played a large role in leading the school to the 2004 state championship. As a senior, he rushed for 1,480 yards with 26 touchdowns, passed for 1,038 yards with 13 touchdowns, and made six receptions for 125 yards on offense. On defense, he had 71 tackles, seven interceptions, three quarterback sacks and two fumble recoveries. He also had 10 kickoff returns, 15 punt returns, and 18 punts. He also lettered in baseball, basketball and track.
College career Byrd enrolled in the University of Oregon, where he played for the Oregon Ducks football team. As a freshman in 2005, Byrd was red-shirted. In 2006 Byrd was a freshman All-American second-team selection by The Sporting News and was the Pac-10 co-freshman player of the year (alongside Taylor Mays and Alterraun Verner). He started the last 11 games at cornerback, recording 56 tackles and five interceptions.
As a sophomore in 2007 Byrd was an All-Pac-10 conference honorable mention. He started all 13 games for the Ducks, recording 64 tackles, a sack, and a conference leading seven interceptions. As a junior in 2008 he was an all-Pac 10 first-team selection and was the defensive MVP of the 2008 Holiday Bowl. He started 13 games and finished with 83 tackles and five interceptions.
Byrd finished his college career starting 37 of 39 games, with 203 tackles, 17 interceptions, a sack, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
After the season Byrd announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2009 NFL draft.
Professional career
Buffalo Bills 2009 The Buffalo Bills selected Byrd in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2009 NFL draft. He was the third safety drafted in 2009, following and Louis Delmas (33rd overall) and Oregon teammate Patrick Chung (34th overall).
On July 29, 2009, the Bills signed Byrd to a four–year, $4.15 million contract that includes $2.47 million guaranteed. The Bills planned to have Byrd immediately compete against Bryan Scott for the role as the starting free safety. Unfortunately, Byrd underwent sports hernia surgery at the beginning of the summer and was placed on the NFI list.
He missed the first 18 days of training camp, the first two preseason games, and was unable to attend spring mini camp due to Oregon's late exam schedule. Upon his return, Byrd competed against Ko Simpson and George Wilson to be the primary backup safety. Head coach Dick Jauron named him a backup and listed him as the No. 2 free safety on the depth chart, behind starting safeties Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott.
On September 14, 2009, Byrd made his professional regular season debut in the Buffalo Bills' season-opener at the New England Patriots and recorded three solo tackles as they lost 24–25. In Week 3, Byrd earned his first career start as a nickelback and recorded five combined tackles (three solo) during a 7–27 loss at the New Orleans Saints. During the game, both starting safeties would suffer injuries with Donte Whitner injuring his thumb and Bryan Scott suffering a high ankle sprain.Bills prepare Byrd for solo flight On October 11, 2009, Byrd set a season-high with seven combined tackles (four solo), made a pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass by Derek Anderson to wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi during a 3–6 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The following week, he made three combined tackles (two solo), set a season-high with three pass deflections, and had his first multi-interception game by picking off two pass attempts by Mark Sanchez during a 16–13 overtime victory at the New York Jets in 6.Rookie Byrd takes flight with two picks
In Week 7, he recorded two solo tackles, had two pass break-ups, and intercepted two passes thrown by Jake Delhomme during a 20–9 victory at the Carolina Panthers.Byrd of prey: Buffalo rookie safety Jairus Byrd gets two more interceptions during a 20-9 win at Carolina For his performance in October, he earned the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month. On November 1, 2009, Byrd made five combined tackles (two solo), two pass deflections, and had his third consecutive game with two interceptions on pass attempts by Matt Schaub as the Bills lost 31–10 to the Houston Texans. This tied an NFL record held by Dave Baker for consecutive games with two or more interceptions with three.Bills rookie Byrd matches NFL-record multi-interception streak On November 17, 2009, the Bills fired head coach Dick Jauron after falling to a 3–6 record and appointed defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. In Week 10, Byrd recorded two combined tackles (one solo), made one pass break-up, and intercepted a pass by Vince Young to wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins during a 17–41 loss at the Tennessee Titans. This was his fifth straight game with an interception, setting the team record for consecutive games with an interception. In Week 14, Byrd recorded four combined tackles (three solo), made a pass deflection, and sealed a 16-10 victory at the Kansas City Chiefs by intercepting a pass by Matt Cassel to wide receiver Chris Chambers with only 2:20 remaining in the game. This set his career-high with nine interceptions in a season. In Week 15, Byrd aggravated his groin injury as the Bills lost 17–10 to the New England Patriots. On December 23, 2009, the Bills officially placed Byrd on season ending injured reserve for the last two games (Weeks 16–17) of the season due to a torn labrum related to his sports hernia surgery. He underwent surgery on his torn labrum and was expected to have a recovery window of four months.Byrd lands on IR, could lose INT title He finished his rookie season in 2009 with a total of 45 combined tackles (33 solo), 11 pass deflections, and set a career-high with nine interceptions in 14 games and 11 starts. His nine interceptions tied for the league league in 2009, along with Asante Samuel, Charles Woodson, and Darren Sharper.NFL.com 2009 interception leadersNFL.com rookie interception stats For his play, he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl, becoming the first Bills rookie selected since Greg Bell in 1984.
2010 On January 19, 2010, the Buffalo Bills announced Chan Gailey as their new head coach. Throughout training camp, he competed against George Wilson to be the starting free safety under defensive coordinator George Edwards. Head coach Chan Gailey named Byrd a backup and listed him as the No. 2 free safety to begin the season, behind starters Donte Whitner and George Wilson.
On November 28, 2010, he set a season-high with 11 combined tackles (seven solo), forced a fumble, and had a fumble recovery during a 16–19 overtime loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 15, Byrd recorded four solo tackles and had his first career sack on Chad Henne for a three–yard loss during a 17–14 win at the Miami Dolphins. On January 2, 2011, Byrd recorded six combined tackles (four solo), made one pass deflection, and had his first career pick-six after he intercepted a pass Mark Brunell threw to running back Joe McKnight and returned it 37–yards to score his first career touchdown during a 7–38 loss at the New York Jets. He finished with 89 combined tackles (62 solo), three forced fumbles, two pass deflections, one sack, a fumble recovery, one interception, and a touchdown in 16 games and 14 starts. 2011 He entered to training camp slated as the de facto starting free safety. Following the departure of Donte Whitner in free agency, head coach Chan Gailey paired Byrd with George Wilson and named them the starting safeties to begin the season.
On September 25, 2011, he set a season-high with 12 combined tackles (eight solo) and made two pass deflections as the Bills defeated the New England Patriots 31–34. In Week 8, Byrd made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, set a season-high with one sack, and intercepted a pass by John Beck to wide receiver Donte Stallworth as the Bills routed the Washington Redskins 23–0. On December 24, 2011, Byrd recorded seven combined tackles (five solo), made a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Tim Tebow to wide receiver Eric Decker and returned it for a 37–yard touchdown during a 40–14 win against the Denver Broncos. He started in all 16 games throughout the 2011 NFL season and finished with a total of 98 combined tackles (75 solo), eight pass deflections, three interceptions, one sack, and a touchdown.
2012 On January 2, 2012, the Buffalo Bills announced their decision to promote linebackers coach Dave Wannstedt to defensive coordinator after the fired Chan Gailey following a 6–10 record in 2011. Head coach Chan Gailey retained Byrd and George Wilson as the starting safeties to begin the season.
On September 16, 2012, Byrd made seven combined tackles (four solo), a pass break-up, and sealed the 35–17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs by intercepting a pass by Matt Cassel to wide receiver Steve Breaston with five seconds remaining. In Week 4, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles (four solo), made two forced fumbles, and had a fumble recovery as the Bills lost 28–52 against the New England Patriots. On October 14, 2012, Byrd made four solo tackles, a pass deflection, and set a season-high with two interceptions during a 19–16 overtime victory at the Arizona Cardinals. He led the Bills to victory by intercepting a pass thrown by John Skelton to tight end Rob Housler and returned it 29–yards before he was tackled by wide receiver Michael Floyd. With the game tied 16–16 in overtime, the Bills would run one play to better position the ball and immediately sent in Rian Lindell to successfully kick the 25–yard game-winning chip-shot field goal to end the game in overtime 19–16. In Week 11, Byrd made four combined tackles (two solo), two pass break-up, recovered a fumble, and helped secure the Bills' 19–14 victory by intercepting a pass by Ryan Tannehill to wide receiver Davone Bess with exactly two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. On December 2, 2012, he recorded one solo tackle, had one pass deflection, and sealed a 18–34 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars by intercepting a pass by Chad Henne to wide receiver Kevin Elliott with 38 seconds remaining. He started in all 16 games throughout the season and recorded 73 combined tackles (55 solo), made six pass deflections, five interceptions, four forced fumbles, and made two fumble recoveries.
2013 On March 1, 2013, the Buffalo Bills opted to place their franchise tag on Byrd in order for him to not enter free agency. He refused to sign his tender and held out, seeking for a long-term contract offer from the Bills. On August 20, 2013, the Buffalo Bills signed Byrd to a fully-guaranteed one–year, $6.91 million franchise tender. Despite signing the tender, it was reported that Byrd had requested a trade and was attempting to have his agent orchestrate a trade. He denied the rumors and trade accusations and stated his sole focus was on his recovery from plantar fasciitis. He remained inactive for the first five games (Weeks 1–5) of the season. In his absence, the Bills' new head coach, Doug Marrone, named Da'Norris Searcy and Aaron Williams the starting safeties to begin the season.