Thanks to tearing his lateral meniscus in practice Thursday, free safety Jairus Byrd is done for the 2014-15 season. Needless to say, this is a huge loss for the New Orleans Saints defense.
Byrd has struggled badly this season since coming over from Buffalo. He has no interceptions and has been horrible at tackling. The safety has also been abused by opposing quarterbacks. However, he is still a talented player. I would expect him to improve when he comes back next season.
That may involve the team getting a new coordinator if things don’t get better soon.
New Orleans will have to move on without the high-priced Byrd. They will turn to Rafael Bush to play opposite of Kenny Vaccaro. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is going to have find a way to make this tandem work. He needs improve the backend of his defense. That has been the worst part of the Saints defense up to this point.
If there is going to be improvement, the safeties are going to play a big part in it. Both are among the worst in the league at their position.
Rob Ryan needs to figure this out quickly, or he will be out after only two seasons. Either way, it will be without the guy who was supposed to be a difference-maker.
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