Bills rookie Byrd heads to Philly for a tune-up
November, 2, 2009
Nov 2
5:53
PM ET
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham
Fear not, Buffalo Bills fans.
At least for the time being.
Your newest hero and one of the few reasons to wake up in the morning hopeful for the future, rookie safety Jairus Byrd, visited a medical specialist in Philadelphia on Monday after leaving Sunday's game with a groin injury.
The exam was a previously scheduled as a follow-up to his sports hernia surgery in the summer. The appointment had been scheduled for Monday because the Bills are on their bye week.
"It was planned before the game that he was going to take this day and go down there to see this doctor, so that's where he is," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "We'll know more about it when he gets back.
"Obviously, he's been sensational, really, on the field. I don't want to hex him, but hopefully it'll turn out fine."
Byrd is the odds-on favorite for NFL defensive rookie of the year and has been Buffalo's MVP.
The second-round draft choice from Oregon leads the NFL with seven interceptions. He picked off two passes for a third straight game in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans and has at least one in four straight, tying a club record.
Byrd's just the second player -- rookie or otherwise -- since 1960 to have three straight games with two or more interceptions. Only six times in NFL history has a rookie recorded three or more multi-interception games in a season.
With eight regular-season games to go, he's one interception away from Buffalo's rookie record set by Archie Matsos in 1960 and three away from the overall franchise record held by Billy Atkins and Tom Janik.
The bye week should help Byrd's continued assault on the record books down the homestretch. Jauron noted Byrd has done this with lingering effects from his surgery.
"It hadn't really kept him out of practice, but it's been bothering him a little bit," Jauron said. "He doesn’t feel 100 percent, and nobody in the league probably does this time of year. But with the situation, we thought it was in everybody's best interest to get him down there today."
Fear not, Buffalo Bills fans.
At least for the time being.
Your newest hero and one of the few reasons to wake up in the morning hopeful for the future, rookie safety Jairus Byrd, visited a medical specialist in Philadelphia on Monday after leaving Sunday's game with a groin injury.
The exam was a previously scheduled as a follow-up to his sports hernia surgery in the summer. The appointment had been scheduled for Monday because the Bills are on their bye week.
"It was planned before the game that he was going to take this day and go down there to see this doctor, so that's where he is," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "We'll know more about it when he gets back.
"Obviously, he's been sensational, really, on the field. I don't want to hex him, but hopefully it'll turn out fine."
Byrd is the odds-on favorite for NFL defensive rookie of the year and has been Buffalo's MVP.
The second-round draft choice from Oregon leads the NFL with seven interceptions. He picked off two passes for a third straight game in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans and has at least one in four straight, tying a club record.
Byrd's just the second player -- rookie or otherwise -- since 1960 to have three straight games with two or more interceptions. Only six times in NFL history has a rookie recorded three or more multi-interception games in a season.
With eight regular-season games to go, he's one interception away from Buffalo's rookie record set by Archie Matsos in 1960 and three away from the overall franchise record held by Billy Atkins and Tom Janik.
The bye week should help Byrd's continued assault on the record books down the homestretch. Jauron noted Byrd has done this with lingering effects from his surgery.
"It hadn't really kept him out of practice, but it's been bothering him a little bit," Jauron said. "He doesn’t feel 100 percent, and nobody in the league probably does this time of year. But with the situation, we thought it was in everybody's best interest to get him down there today."
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Tim Graham
Graham joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Miami Dolphins for the Palm Beach Post. He previously spent eight years at the Buffalo News, where he was an award-winning NHL and boxing writer. The Baldwin-Wallace College grad also has worked for the Las Vegas Sun and Boston Herald.