jeanpierre

What does PUP mean for Saints safety Jairus Byrd? An explanation of key NFL terms

By Katherine Terrell, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on September 01, 2015 at 2:00 PM, updated September 01, 2015 at 2:16 PM

As the New Orleans Saints prepare to cut their roster from 90 players to 75 on Tuesday, there are a lot of questions about certain terms and why teams choose to make certain moves.

Here's an explanation of some of those key terms:

More

foreverfan

Jairus Byrd will never play a down for us.

hagan714

PUP in this case means one really fat Byrd rolling in the dough

homerj07

PUP means we have wasted MILLIONS of dollars on a flop!

SaintsBro

"No player can be placed on PUP after they have practiced."

Sounds to me like they are holding Byrd back from practice so that, if they need to, they can keep him on the PUP. The minute he practices with the team, even just running around some cones or hitting a dummy or whatever, he is OFF and can't go back to PUP. They are likely being extra cautious, not wanting to take the PUP option off the table. Which makes the injury seem more mysterious than it maybe is (we don't know, of course).

Plus it hypothetically frees up a roster spot for six weeks, where Byrd on PUP won't count against the 53-man roster. Which knowing Payton could turn out to be another toy or offensive weapon; that open roster spot could be the difference between keeping more receivers or two fullbacks or even a Payton "golden oldie" favorite, keeping two or even three kickers on the roster.

If the other safeties are generally healthy, they could keep an extra man on the roster for that six weeks, someplace else, competing at some other position. Like maybe defensive line, a tackle/guard or a LB, throwing both of two guys against the wall to see who sticks, while Byrd is out; then when Byrd comes back, they jettison the weaker of the two. Never under-estimate Payton and his OCD tinkering, he's always looking for angles on things. He also likes to delay decisions, as long as possible, before he finally decides; it's part of his OCD nature.

That said, Byrd on the field in a Saints uniform, I'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT.

nutria

Byrd has been abducted by aliens. He has returned with a secret message for the government from the Aliens and is in a witness protection plan. Don't look for him this year.

Rugby Saint II

It means we're screwed.

SaintFanQ

I assume the Saints haven't actually said what his injury is yet.

I wish they would just come out with it and stop all the Who dat nation and media speculation!

If he has a genuine, serious injury then the guy can't help that and obviously will be unable to play!

I'm sure he would rather be on the field showing us what he can do than be reading all the negatives that people are saying about him.

IMO it time for the coaches and front office to dish out the info on him and then, if necessary, act accordingly.

We have one more pre-season game tonight and then its showtime, regular season is here. The fans deserve to know who is going to be kitting up in regular season and hopefully getting us to the playoffs!!!

GEAUX SAINTS!!!!

AsylumGuido

You assume correctly.

The Saints have no reason to care what the fans or media speculate upon.

If he had a genuine, serious injury he would have been placed on IR to free the roster space. He was placed on the preseason PUP list which means he does not count against the roster limits. It also means he is not allowed to practice and remains eligible for the regular season PUP list. There is no reason to activate him off the PUP until the final cuts occur.

Once again, he is not allowed to "show us what he can do" at this time.

As fans we don't deserve anything that isn't required.

Agreed.

Halo

I don't know what Loomis and Payton were thinking. The guy hasn't played a full season since 2011. This is 2015.

Before he departed the Bills seeking another paycheck, media and fans in Buffalo were wanting to see him go to free up some money. Even the bills organization questioned whether his injuries weren't real in 2013 so he could collect a paycheck.

For what we paid for Byrd we could have signed two defensive linemen to rotate on our line.

What did the Bills see that we can't?

Tension mounting with injured star safety Jairus Byrd, Bills - CBSSports.com

2009 - His rookie season he was placed on IR for a groin injury after like 1 game.
2010 - 2011 - He played relatively injury free both seasons and these were his best years
2012 - Byrd plays but is injured questionable for last half of the season. His tackles and stats cut 1/4 from previous 2 seasons, but he's a ball hawk and hauls in 6 int's
2013 - injured and plays half a season. Demands pay raise.

Seeing his best seasons are almost 4 years in the past, maybe it's time we cut ties and move on. But that depends on how much we guaranteed to him by contract.