Buffalo Bills 2009 The
Buffalo Bills selected Byrd in the second round (42nd overall) of the
2009 NFL draft. He was the third safety drafted in 2009, following and
Louis Delmas (33rd overall) and Oregon teammate
Patrick Chung (34th overall). On July 29, 2009, the Bills signed Byrd to a four–year, $4.15 million contract that includes $2.47 million guaranteed. The Bills planned to have Byrd immediately compete against
Bryan Scott for the role as the starting free safety. Unfortunately, Byrd underwent
sports hernia surgery at the beginning of the summer and was placed on the
NFI list. He missed the first 18 days of training camp, the first two preseason games, and was unable to attend spring mini camp due to Oregon's late exam schedule. Upon his return, Byrd competed against
Ko Simpson and
George Wilson to be the primary backup safety. Head coach
Dick Jauron named him a backup and listed him as the No. 2 free safety on the depth chart, behind starting safeties
Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott. On September 14, 2009, Byrd made his professional regular season debut in the
Buffalo Bills' season-opener at the
New England Patriots and recorded three solo tackles as they lost 24–25. In Week 3, Byrd earned his first career start as a nickelback and recorded five combined tackles (three solo) during a 7–27 loss at the
New Orleans Saints. During the game, both starting safeties would suffer injuries with Donte Whitner injuring his thumb and Bryan Scott suffering a high ankle sprain. On October 11, 2009, Byrd set a season-high with seven combined tackles (four solo), made a pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass by
Derek Anderson to wide receiver
Mohamed Massaquoi during a 3–6 loss to the
Cleveland Browns. The following week, he made three combined tackles (two solo), set a season-high with three pass deflections, and had his first multi-interception game by picking off two pass attempts by
Mark Sanchez during a 16–13 overtime victory at the
New York Jets in 6. . In Week 7, he recorded two solo tackles, had two pass break-ups, and intercepted two passes thrown by
Jake Delhomme during a 20–9 victory at the
Carolina Panthers. For his performance in October, he earned the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month. On November 1, 2009, Byrd made five combined tackles (two solo), two pass deflections, and had his third consecutive game with two interceptions on pass attempts by
Matt Schaub as the Bills lost 31–10 to the
Houston Texans. This tied an NFL record held by
Dave Baker for consecutive games with two or more interceptions with three. On November 17, 2009, the Bills fired head coach Dick Jauron after falling to a 3–6 record and appointed defensive coordinator
Perry Fewell to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. In Week 10, Byrd recorded two combined tackles (one solo), made one pass break-up, and intercepted a pass by
Vince Young to wide receiver
Lavelle Hawkins during a 17–41 loss at the
Tennessee Titans. This was his fifth straight game with an interception, setting the team record for consecutive games with an interception. In Week 14, Byrd recorded four combined tackles (three solo), made a pass deflection, and sealed a 16-10 victory at the
Kansas City Chiefs by intercepting a pass by
Matt Cassel to wide receiver
Chris Chambers with only 2:20 remaining in the game. This set his career-high with nine interceptions in a season. In Week 15, Byrd aggravated his groin injury as the Bills lost 17–10 to the
New England Patriots. On December 23, 2009, the Bills officially placed Byrd on season ending
injured reserve for the last two games (Weeks 16–17) of the season due to a torn
labrum related to his sports hernia surgery. He finished his rookie season in
2009 with a total of 45 combined tackles (33 solo), 11 pass deflections, and set a career-high with nine interceptions in 14 games and 11 starts. His nine interceptions tied for the
league league in 2009, along with
Asante Samuel,
Charles Woodson, and
Darren Sharper. For his play, he was selected to play in the
Pro Bowl, becoming the first Bills rookie selected since
Greg Bell in 1984.
2010 On January 19, 2010, the
Buffalo Bills announced
Chan Gailey as their new head coach. Throughout training camp, he competed against
George Wilson to be the starting free safety under defensive coordinator
George Edwards. Head coach Chan Gailey named Byrd a backup and listed him as the No. 2 free safety to begin the season, behind starters Donte Whitner and George Wilson. On November 28, 2010, he set a season-high with 11 combined tackles (seven solo), forced a fumble, and had a fumble recovery during a 16–19 overtime loss against the
Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 15, Byrd recorded four solo tackles and had his first career sack on
Chad Henne for a three–yard loss during a 17–14 win at the
Miami Dolphins. On January 2, 2011, Byrd recorded six combined tackles (four solo), made one pass deflection, and had his first career pick-six after he intercepted a pass
Mark Brunell threw to running back
Joe McKnight and returned it 37–yards to score his first career touchdown during a 7–38 loss at the
New York Jets. He finished with 89 combined tackles (62 solo), three forced fumbles, two pass deflections, one sack, a fumble recovery, one interception, and a touchdown in 16 games and 14 starts.
2011 He entered to training camp slated as the
de facto starting free safety. Following the departure of
Donte Whitner in free agency, head coach Chan Gailey paired Byrd with George Wilson and named them the starting safeties to begin the season. On September 25, 2011, he set a season-high with 12 combined tackles (eight solo) and made two pass deflections as the Bills defeated the
New England Patriots 31–34. In Week 8, Byrd made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, set a season-high with one sack, and intercepted a pass by
John Beck to wide receiver
Donte Stallworth as the Bills routed the
Washington Redskins 23–0. On December 24, 2011, Byrd recorded seven combined tackles (five solo), made a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by
Tim Tebow to wide receiver
Eric Decker and returned it for a 37–yard touchdown during a 40–14 win against the
Denver Broncos. He started in all 16 games throughout the
2011 NFL season and finished with a total of 98 combined tackles (75 solo), eight pass deflections, three interceptions, one sack, and a touchdown. On September 16, 2012, Byrd made seven combined tackles (four solo), a pass break-up, and sealed the 35–17 victory over the
Kansas City Chiefs by intercepting a pass by
Matt Cassel to wide receiver
Steve Breaston with five seconds remaining. In Week 4, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles (four solo), made two forced fumbles, and had a fumble recovery as the Bills lost 28–52 against the
New England Patriots. On October 14, 2012, Byrd made four solo tackles, a pass deflection, and set a season-high with two interceptions during a 19–16 overtime victory at the
Arizona Cardinals. In Week 11, Byrd made four combined tackles (two solo), two pass break-up, recovered a fumble, and helped secure the Bills' 19–14 victory by intercepting a pass by
Ryan Tannehill to wide receiver
Davone Bess with exactly two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. On December 2, 2012, he recorded one solo tackle, had one pass deflection, and sealed a 18–34 win against the
Jacksonville Jaguars by intercepting a pass by Chad Henne to wide receiver
Kevin Elliott with 38 seconds remaining. He started in all 16 games throughout the season and recorded 73 combined tackles (55 solo), made six pass deflections, five interceptions, four forced fumbles, and made two fumble recoveries. He refused to sign his tender and held out, seeking for a long-term contract offer from the Bills. On August 20, 2013, the Buffalo Bills signed Byrd to a fully-guaranteed one–year, $6.91 million franchise tender. Despite signing the tender, it was reported that Byrd had requested a trade and was attempting to have his agent orchestrate a trade. He denied the rumors and trade accusations and stated his sole focus was on his recovery from
plantar fasciitis. He remained inactive for the first five games (Weeks 1–5) of the season. In his absence, the Bills' new head coach,
Doug Marrone, named
Da'Norris Searcy and
Aaron Williams the starting safeties to begin the season. On November 17, 2013, Byrd made four combined tackles (two solo), two pass deflections, one sack, and set a season-high with two interceptions on passes by
Geno Smith during a 37–14 victory against the
New York Jets. In Week 13, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles (six solo) during a 31–34 loss at the
Atlanta Falcons. He finished the season with a total of 38 combined tackles (27 solo,), six pass deflections, four interceptions, and one sack in 11 games and nine starts.
New Orleans Saints 2014 On March 11, 2014, the
New Orleans Saints signed Byrd to a six–year, $54.00 million contract that included $26.30 million guaranteed, $12.30 million guaranteed upon signing, and an initial signing bonus of $11.00 million. He entered training camp slated as the
de facto starting strong free following the departures of
Malcolm Jenkins and
Roman Harper. Head coach
Sean Payton named Byrd the starting free safety to begin the season and paired him with
Kenny Vaccaro. On September 7, 2014, Byrd made his debut as a member of the
New Orleans Saints in their season-opener at the
Atlanta Falcons and recorded five solo tackles as they lost in overtime 34–37. In Week 4, he set a season-high with seven combined tackles (six solo) and had one pass deflection during a 17–38 loss at the
Dallas Cowboys. On October 2, 2014, Byrd suffered a bucket-handle
lateral meniscus tear to his right knee during practice. On October 3, 2014, Saints' head coach Sean Payton announced that it had been confirmed that Byrd had torn his meniscus and subsequently placed him on injured reserve for the remaining 13 games of the season (Weeks 5–17). He finished the
2014 NFL season with only 22 combined tackles (17 solo) in four games and four starts.
2015 He returned in the spring and participated in OTAs and spring minicamp, but was sidelined before training camp started due to what Byrd described as an "unspecified" injury. ESPN NFL Insider Ed Werder reported that he began experiencing swelling in his knee. The Saints did not draft or sign legitimate starting safeties during the off-season and chose to have
Rafael Bush return as his replacement. In Week 1, Rafael Bush tore his pectoral muscle during a 19-31 loss at the
Arizona Cardinals and was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season. He returned in Week 4, but was limited to appearing as a backup behind
Kenny Phillips. On October 11, 2015, Byrd made his first start of the season and recorded three combined tackles (two solo) and made one pass break-up during a 17–39 loss at the
Philadelphia Eagles. On November 8, 2015, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (seven solo) during a 28–34 overtime loss at the
Tennessee Titans. On November 29, 2015, Byrd made eight combined tackles (five solo), one pass deflection, and made his sole interception of the season on a pass thrown by
Brian Hoyer to wide receiver
Cecil Shorts during a 6–24 loss at the
Houston Texans. He finished the
2015 NFL season with a total of 53 combined tackles (37 solo), three pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 13 games and 13 starts. In Week 3, Byrd recorded six combined tackles (four solo), but was responsible for giving up crucial plays due to an inability tackle. The Saints went on to lose 32–45 against the
Atlanta Falcons. Head coach Sean Payton subsequently benched him in favor of rookie Vonn Bell as the Saints won 34–35 at the
San Diego Chargers. Beginning in Week 5, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had Byrd appearing in three-safety sets. In Week 6, Byrd began appearing in three-safety sets full-time and fully transitioned into his new position alongside Vonn Bell and Kenny Vaccaro. On October 30, 2016, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (eight solo) as the Saints defeated the
Seattle Seahawks 25–20. On December 24, 2016, Byrd made six combined tackles (three solo), two pass deflections, and set a season-high with two interceptions during a 31–24 victory against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He helped secure the victory by intercepting a pass by
Jameis Winston to wide receiver
Russell Shepard with only 8:13 in the fourth quarter. He finished the
2016 NFL season with 82 combined tackles (56 solo), three pass deflections, and two interceptions on 16 games and 15 starts.
Carolina Panthers On October 3, 2017, Byrd was signed by the
Carolina Panthers.
NFL statistics ==Personal life==