ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills general manager Doug Whaley is done playing franchise tag with safety Jairus Byrd. After spending much of the past year trying to negotiate a long-term contract, Whaley preferred risking the loss of Byrd in free agency rather than applying the one-year tag on the three-time Pro Bowler for a second consecutive season. "We didnt think it was the best option for the team, for us to get better," Whaley said shortly after the NFLs deadline for teams to designate franchise players passed Monday afternoon. "The best thing for the Buffalo Bills was to try to get him signed to a long-term deal." Whaley didnt rule out the possibility of the sides negotiating a deal before the start of the NFLs free-agency period on March 11. "As they say in the movies, theres always a chance," he said. Whaley, however, did call it a "fair assessment" that Byrd is more interested in testing the market to determine his worth after being prevented from doing so last year. Negotiations reached a standstill last weekend after the Bills made Byrd what they regarded as a lucrative multiyear offer. Without revealing the full value and length of the proposal, people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that Byrd would have been paid about $30 million over the first three seasons of the contract. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side is publicly discussing the negotiations. Byrd played under a $6.9 million franchise tag last year. The price for Buffalo to apply the designation again would be about $8.4 million this season. The one-year price tag might not have scared the Bills from using it one more time. A bigger deterrent was paying that much money for a disgruntled player who missed nearly the entire off-season last year before accepting his contract a day before the Bills broke training camp in late August. "I wouldnt say those words," Whaley said, when asked if he was frustrated by a failure to reach a deal. "I would say, Hey, we worked hard. Its still not over yet. Then, when its over, Ill let the feelings seep into the equation." Byrd, selected in the second round of the 2009 draft out of Oregon, will have an opportunity to be among the top defensive backs available in free agency. He enjoyed a breakout season as a rookie, when he tied for the NFL lead with nine interceptions -- a rookie franchise record. Last year, Byrd earned his third Pro Bowl selection. He finished tied for the team lead with four interceptions, and added a sack and a forced fumble despite missing the first five games of the season because of plantar fasciitis in both feet. Byrd has 22 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles in 73 career games. The Bills could lose their top defensive back on a unit that showed considerable improvement last season. Though Buffalo struggled against the run, the defence finished 10th in the NFL in yards allowed -- its best ranking since a second-place finish in 2004. The Bills also finished second in the league with a franchise-record 57 sacks. The defence is in transition this off-season with Jim Schwartz taking over as co-ordinator. He replaced Mike Pettine, who left the Bills after one year to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. The Browns could be a potential landing spot for Byrd. They have plenty of space under the salary cap, and Byrd enjoyed playing under Pettine. The Bills made a roster move Monday by releasing linebacker Willie Jefferson, who was signed to a reserve/future contract in January. Nike Air Max Womens . "Im excited just for a new start, just to see where things are going, to bring some kind of tradition back to the team and guys being excited about something new," the defensive back said during a conference call Monday after agreeing to stay with the Bombers rather than go to free agency next month. Nike Air Max 95 Sale . Murray, the defending champion and No. 3 seed, claimed his first match win at Queens in 2005 and went on to win the Wimbledon warmup three times. But he failed to take advantage of eight set points after leading the first-set tiebreaker 6-2, and Stepanek survived to convert with his second set point. http://www.airmax2018womens.us/. Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel also accused Pistorius of tailoring his testimony to fit the evidence at the scene. Pistorius denied the accusations. Nel alleged that the Olympic runner changed his aim with his 9 mm pistol to ensure that he hit Steenkamp as she fell back against a magazine rack in a toilet cubicle. Air Max 90 Sale .com) - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and former world No. White Air Max Online . Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- C.J. Cron hit an RBI single on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues, doubled his second time up and hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Howie Kendrick capped his first four-hit game of the season with an RBI double in the ninth and scored two runs. Right-hander Garrett Richards (3-0) allowed three runs and nine hits over six innings with two walks and a career-high nine strikeouts after three straight no-decisions. Kendrick doubled with two outs in the sixth against reliever Shawn Tolleson (0-1) and scored the go-ahead run when Cron lined a 1-1 pitch to left. Joe Smith followed Fernando Salas and Ernesto Frieri out of the Angels bullpen and got three outs for his third save in as many chances since replacing Frieri in the closers role. Cron, born in nearby Fullerton and drafted by the Angels with the 17th overall pick in 2011, had his contract purchased from Triple-A Salt Lake before the game after third baseman David Freese went on the disabled list with a non-displaced fracture of his right middle finger. Freese was hit by a pitch in the Angels series-opening 5-2 loss. The Rangers threatened in the sixth when No.9 hitter Robinson Chirinos doubled with two outs and continued to third when the ball skipped away from Collin Cowgill in the right field corner. But Richards struck out slumping Elvis Andrus after an intentional walk to Shin-Soo Choo. Andrus was 0 for 5 with a game-ending double-play grounder and has four hits in 46 at-bats over his last 12 games. Matt Harrison made his second start of the season for the Rangers, allowing three runs and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings. The left-hander, was pitching on five days rest -- a combination of Thursdays off day and the teams desire to keep his turn in the rotation from coming up duriing next weeks interleague series at Colorado.dddddddddddd Harrison, who signed a five-year, $55 million contract after winning 18 games in 2012, was sidelined for more than a year because of back problems after losing to the Angels in his second start of 2013. For the second straight night, the Rangers spotted the Angels a 2-0 lead before pulling ahead 3-2. Prince Fielder led off the fourth with a single and scored on a fielders choice grounder by Mitch Moreland. Chirinos and Choo drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with two-out RBI singles. The Angels tied it in the bottom half with an RBI single by Albert Pujols, who grounded into a force at third with the bases loaded to end the second inning. Cron drove in Mike Trout with a two-out single to left field. Choos one-hop throw to the plate bounced off Chirinoss glove, allowing Cron to take second. But Erick Aybar grounded out to shortstop Andrus, whose low throw was scooped out of the dirt by Prince Fielder. The Angels added a run in the third on a fielders choice grounder by Aybar, after Kendricks infield single and a drive to right-centre by Cron that bounced out of centre fielder Leonys Martins glove as he ran full-speed toward the warning track. NOTES: Crons three hits were one more than his fathers entire major league total. Chris Cron was 2 for 25 in 12 games with the Angels and Chicago White Sox between 1991 and 1992. ... Cron led all of minor league baseball with 123 RBIs in 2012 while playing for Inland Empire of the Class-A California League. ... After walking his first batter of the game, Richards struck out Andrus, Adrian Beltre and Fielder in succession. Fielder fanned on a ball in the dirt, one pitch after Choo stole second with an enormous jump before Richards came out of the stretch in his delivery. ... Beltre, still looking for his first home run, has played eight games since coming off the DL. ' ' '