Buffalo Bills, Jairus Byrd to talk contract at 2013 NFL Combine

The Buffalo Bills and the agent for free agent safety Jairus Byrd are scheduled to hold contract negotiations this week from the 2013 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, reports John Wawrow of The Associated Press.

Wawrow also reports, citing a source, that the two sides have not held serious contract negotiations at any point yet this off-season. That will change this week at the Combine, which is typically when these types of negotiations are kick-started. The same happened with Stevie Johnson last year, and he signed a new contract 11 days later (though it should be noted that the Bills had at least been talking to Johnson before closing the gap in Indy).

The expectation remains that Byrd, 26, will be back with Buffalo next season. Clearly, the Bills would like to get Byrd signed to a long-term deal to avoid using the franchise tag to retain his services, but that roughly $6.8 million tag remains an option if a deal can't be struck. Buffalo has until the afternoon of March 4 before deciding whether or not to use the franchise tag.