Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd was ready to make his season debut Thursday night, but coach Doug Marrone decided the timing wasn't right.
"It was the first time we did things full speed," Marrone said after the Bills' 37-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns, per ESPN.com. "We practiced a little bit this week. It's my responsibility to make sure that we put a player out there that has gone full speed for a full week. If it was a Sunday game, I think it could have been different."
On Tuesday, Byrd practiced for the first time this season and said his plantar fasciitis felt good enough to play after testing it prior to the game.
"I felt good to go," Byrd said, per The Buffalo News. "He just didn't think it would be best for me to go tonight. Ultimately, that was his call. He controls all that."
The safety sat out most of the offseason in a contentious contract standoff after being hit with the franchise tag. After finally signing the $6.9 million franchise tender in late August, Byrd joined the team, and we learned shortly after that he was dealing with the lingering foot injury.
The Bills' secondary has yet to be at full strength this season and misses Byrd's dynamic ball skills. The Bills play the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 13, which might be the date Byrd finally makes his debut.
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