Jairus Byrd signs one-year franchise tender with Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills announced late Tuesday evening that free safety Jairus Byrd had signed a one-year franchise tender with the team. BuffaloBills.com reports that it's the same one-year tender offer that's been on the table since March, which will guarantee him $6.916 million in salary this season.

The news comes as the Bills prepare to break training camp after the conclusion of Wednesday afternoon's practice at St. John Fisher College. Chris Brown also reports that Byrd will not be present for the final camp practice tomorrow at Fisher, instead joining his teammates on a scheduled day off on Thursday as they migrate back to Orchard Park.

When it became apparent in July that the Bills and Byrd would not agree to a long-term contract extension this off-season - and that Byrd would be missing training camp time as a result - most believed that Byrd could hold out as long as just prior to Week 1, in similar fashion to Jason Peters' holdout in 2008. Instead, Byrd has signed with the team 18 days prior to their opening day tilt with the New England Patriots, meaning that he'll have a solid chunk of time to familiarize himself with Mike Pettine's defense.

Byrd and the Bills cannot begin working on a long-term contract extension until after the 2013 season concludes - so for now, the contract drama with Byrd is in the rearview mirror. Now, it's just a matter of time until he's back in the starting lineup.