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Jairus Byrd will get another chance to live up to the deal he signed during the 2014 offseason.

A year ago, the New Orleans Saints made one of the biggest splashes in the NFL by signing free-agent safety Jairus Byrd, which helped them generate a lot of buzz as a top Super Bowl contender.
A year later, that buzz is gone. But Byrd isn't.

Now healthy again, the three-time Pro Bowler still has a chance to make the kind of major impact the Saints expected when they signed him to a six-year, $54 million contract last March.


"The biggest thing I'm looking forward to is just a full offseason. Just being out there, being around the guys, going through everything and just staying healthy," said Byrd, who put a lot of blame for the Saints' 2014 struggles on his own shoulders -- or, rather, his back and his knee.

Byrd, 28, missed most of the offseason last year after having back surgery to relieve a nagging disk issue. He came back during the preseason, but wound up missing the final 12 weeks of the regular season after tearing the lateral meniscus in his knee during practice.

He wasn't around enough to be the playmaker -- or the veteran leader -- that the Saints sorely needed.

And the four weeks that Byrd did play weren't pretty, either, as the entire secondary struggled with missed tackles and blown assignments during a dreadful 1-3 start.


Healthy Jairus Byrd eager to become part of the solution for Saints - New Orleans Saints Blog - ESPN

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"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins