After Wednesday’s roster purge, the Buffalo Bills secondary is depleted going into Monday’s free agent tampering period. Now, the Bills are approximately $7M over the salary cap according to Spotrac, with more moves still to come. The Bills could look to rebuild their secondary this upcoming week with a boatload of talented Safeties available, and some good veteran corners on the market as well. But, let’s look at some of our own free agents today.
Micah Hyde
Hyde has been the leader of this defense since arriving here in 2017. In a time when our defense was young, with a rookie HC, he stepped up when the team needed him. But now, with multiple neck stingers last season and a neck fusion in 2022, it may be time for him to hang up the cleats. That was hinted at after the season by both management and Hyde. If it is the end of Micah Hyde’s tenure here, which is the expected outcome, he’ll have walked away with 16 INTs, one TD, three forced fumbles, and 417 tackles. He also had maybe the most memorable INT in Bills history… the endzone INT against the New England Patriots and Mac Jones.
Dane Jackson
Jackson came over to the Bills as a seventh round pick back in 2020. Since then, he has started in 28 games, including six last season. He has proven to be a reliable backup to the likes of Tre White, Christian Benford, and Rasul Douglas. Sean McDermott values his presence in the secondary. In a year where the Bills will likely bring in a handful of cheap free agents, Jackson is only projected to sign a one year/$3.1M deal, per Spotrac.
Cam Lewis
Lewis has really come along in the last couple years, and has made himself invaluable to the Bills. His CB/Safety versatility, along with experience on special teams, has quickly made him a favorite of McDermott. For those reasons, and the fact that the Bills secondary is razor thin right now, the Bills likely bring him back on a very cheap deal.
What the fans think
Since they already re-signed Taylor Rapp, let’s look at Cam Lewis and Dane Jackson. The fans would rather bring back Jackson over Lewis. However, there’s a very good chance both end up returning to the Buffalo Bills, at least for training camp. In a year where the Safety room is going through a complete rebuild, the team could use all the familiar faces they can get.
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