Pittsford, NY – Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd will end a nearly month-long absence from training camp after signing the team's one-year contract offer as its designated franchise player on Tuesday.
Byrd also sat out all offseason training activities and minicamp in protest of being slapped with the franchise tag, but finally relented and accepted the Bills' tender offer of $6.9 million for the upcoming season. Buffalo was unable to come to an agreement with the 2012 Pro Bowl selection on a long-term contract by the mid-July deadline.
The playmaking four-year pro is expected to rejoin the Bills on Thursday, when the club returns to Buffalo after concluding training camp.
A second-round pick of the Bills in the 2009 draft, Byrd has started all but seven of the team's 64 games over the last four seasons and is tied for the NFL lead in both interceptions (18) and forced fumbles (10) among safeties over that span. The 26-year-old led Buffalo with five picks and four forced fumbles while adding 76 tackles in 2012.
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