It's your move, Micah Hyde.
It's unknown whether the Buffalo Bills' longtime safety will opt to retire or hit the free agent market in the coming weeks. Following the Bills' divisional round playoff loss, Hyde's wife posted what seemed to be a heartfelt farewell to Buffalo, which has been the family's football home since 2017.
While speaking at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, head coach Sean McDermott sounded more than willing to welcome the 33-year-old Hyde back for one more go-round.
"Say the word 'Micah' around Buffalo and people smile. He's had a huge impact on our organization, a huge impact on the community. He's a class act around not only Buffalo but the NFL. I can't say enough good things about Micah Hyde," said McDermott.
On Tuesday, Bills general manager Brandon Beane marveled at the impressive seven-year run that Hyde and position mate Jordan Poyer have had. The latter has one year left on his contract.
"You never want to move on from good players. I've been in the league 26, 27 years, whatever it is and I've never seen a safety duo for seven seasons play together," said Beane. "To play, in this day and age of free agency, seven seasons is remarkable. Whether it's this year, whether it's next year, I don't know that you're ever gonna find a tandem as good as that. We've been spoiled."
After hearing comments from McDermott and Beane, it's hard to envision the Bills saying no to bringing Hyde back at a reasonable price, but will both parties be interested in running it back? Time will tell if Hyde still has the desire to play despite being plagued by neck injuries the past couple years.
Signing a free-agent contract with the Bills at the start of McDermott's head coaching tenure, Hyde quickly emerged as a defensive leader and has retained that status ever since. The 2013 fifth-round draft pick, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers, has made 95 regular season starts for the Bills. Hyde, a two-time All-Pro (2017, 2021), has totaled 417 tackles and 16 interceptions as a Bill.
Meanwhile, Poyer earned has started 107 regular season games for Buffalo. He earned an All-Pro First Team selection in 2021 and a Pro Bowl bid in 2022.
"Whether you have to replace it all at once, or whether you keep one, or keep them both, those are all decisions we're working through on our end," said Beane. "We don't control fully if Micah plays or not. Ultimately, we're gonna try to make the best decision we can knowing that if you don't have them both, it's gong to be hard to match the pair we've had the last seven seasons."
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