Jairus Byrd, Leodis McKelvin listed questionable

Buffalo Bills free safety Jairus Byrd (31) makes a tackle on Miami Dolphins wide receiver Davone Bess (15) during the first half of a game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills have listed their injury report for the Week 4 contest against the Baltimore Ravens, and two key defensive backs in star free safety Jairus Byrd and current No. 1 cornerback Leodis McKelvin have been listed questionable. McKelvin is a game-time decision after injuring his hamstring against the New York Jets last week, and his absence would be devastating for an already banged-up Bills pass defense that has plenty of question marks right now. He is set to be a game-time decision, and he was once again limited in practice today. If McKelvin is a no-go, then it will be up to Aaron Williams to hold down the fort at corner.

Jairus Byrd has yet to make his season debut under the franchise tag, and he is struggling through a plantar fasciitis injury. While it is a painful ailment, it can also be played through, but nobody should blame Byrd for taking the first three weeks off. He’s clearly not happy with his franchise deal, and the last thing he wants is to head into free agency injured like both Anthony Spencer and Henry Melton will be. Those two defensive stars are out for the season with severe knee injuries so their situations aren’t really comparable, but the point remains that Jairus Byrd isn’t going to play through an injury in a contract year.

That said, his foot injury should be healed up by now, and he has slowly moved “up” in the injury report designation from doubtful to questionable over the course of the season. His status for Week 4 against the Ravens is even cloudier than McKelvin’s, so I would keep an eye out on any reports or blurbs regarding Byrd.

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