Bills Safety Jairus Byrd to hit Free Agent Market. Should the Bears go after him?

January 23, 2014; Honolulu, HI, USA; Team Rice running back Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears (22, right) runs against safety Jairus Byrd of the Buffalo Bills (31) during practice for the 2014 Pro Bowl at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears are going to be focused on drafting defensively in this year’s upcoming draft. However, the the other way to acquire players in the NFL is through free agency. The Buffalo Bills announced Monday that they will not franchise tag free agent safety Jairus Byrd. The five-year veteran is a three-time Pro Bowler with good ball-hawking skills. He’s one of the best safeties in the league and is astronomically better than Chris Conte and Major Wright.

Drafted players always have many questions to answer. Even so-called experts can’t truly predict how everyone will fare in the NFL. The Bears need to rebuild their repugnant defense with a mixture of youth and experience. Jairus Byrd has proven to be a good player and would be extremely beneficial to Chicago’s precarious secondary. He had a solid 2013 season despite missing five games.

So should the Bears go after Byrd? Is there a better, more cost-effective safety out there? Should they focus on different positions this free agency and look for a safety in the draft? There’s always so many questions. But one thing we do know is the answer to “Should the Bears find replacements to Chris Conte and Major Wright?” Yes. And fast.

Dec 1, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Buffalo Bills free safety Jairus Byrd (31) tackles Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darius Johnson (13) during the second half at the Rogers Center. Falcons beat the Bills 34 to 31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

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