Jairus Byrd, Bills "not close" on contract, have no scheduled talks

The first significant report on the Jairus Byrd front has been published this week, with Tim Graham of The Buffalo News doing the honors. It's not a promising report if you're into the idea of Byrd signing a long-term contract extension with the Buffalo Bills within the next week.

According to Graham's source, the Bills are "not close" to signing Byrd, there are no contract talks scheduled for this week between Bills brass and Eugene Parker, and that no talks are expected to take place, either.

Well alright, then. Let the skyrocketing of irritation and angst levels begin.

The Bills hit Byrd, who will turn 27 this October, with a non-exclusive franchise tag on March 1. He has not signed that tender, nor has he been in attendance for OTAs and mini-camps - mandatory or otherwise - with new head coach Doug Marrone and his staff this off-season.

If the Bills' negotiating brass (spearheaded, in all likelihood, by team president Russ Brandon) and Parker (Byrd's notorious agent) don't change course and do some negotiating this week, it's probable that Byrd will miss at least some training camp practices in an effort to secure a one-year contract with a no-tag clause for the 2014 off-season. He could also sign his tender and report at any time, or continue his holdout all the way until November 12.

Mercifully, we live in amazing times. Cell phones and the Internet make communication a seconds-long process. Ideally, one or both of these camps will make use of the wondrous technology at their disposal and get the ball rolling here. Until then, it's time to yell on a sports blog, apparently.