Safety Kevin Byard rejected a Titans request to take a pay cut during the offseason, but he came around on the prospect of a reworked contract last week.
Byard agreed to a restructured contract that will cut his base salary to $11 million with incentives giving him the opportunity to get back to his original $14 million in compensation. The move helped free up some money that the Titans used to sign wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who Byard called an “elite player” after discussing his decision to agree to the salary reduction.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about winning ballgames,” Byard said, via John Glennon of the Nashville Post. “You kind of understand it as you get older as a player, the business side of football and being able to build a championship roster. And that’s what it’s about here, it’s about winning ballgames. At times, it’s time to be selfish, but at the end of the day, it’s about building a team and I’m a team leader, and I want to win, first and foremost. I’ve said this multiple times: I want to help bring a championship to Nashville and that’s what we plan on doing this year.”
The Titans went 7-10 last year, so it’s no surprise that Byard would like to see the team be a winner again. It will be some time before we know if Hopkins’ arrival is the ticket to that outcome.
