ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Free agent safety Micah Hyde is re-signing with the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday to the team's practice squad.
The 2017 Pro Bowl selection became a free agent after his contract with the Bills came to an end after the 2023 season. Hyde openly contemplated retirement and remained unsigned for the first 13 weeks of the 2024 season. He made clear that if he was to return, it would only be to the Bills.
Coach Sean McDermott made it clear Wednesday that Hyde will not initially be starting and that they will take his role one day at a time.
The Bills drafted safety Cole Bishop in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft, in addition to re-signing safety Taylor Rapp to an extension in the offseason. Rapp and 2021 sixth-round pick Damar Hamlin have been starters on the defense the entire season.
The Bills' defense is tied for second in takeaways (24) and leads the league in the lowest total QBR allowed by opponents (50.4).
Hyde spent the last seven seasons partnering with now-Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer, starting the most games by a safety duo during that stretch (92). Poyer was released by the Buffalo ahead of free agency, ending a two-year deal signed last offseason. Both players had signed with the Bills in free agency after Sean McDermott was hired as the team's head coach in 2017.
Hyde's locker has remained unoccupied at the Bills facility in 2024, and his jersey number -- No. 23 -- has not been given out.
An injury in Week 2 of the 2022 season led to Hyde, 33, undergoing neck surgery that ultimately kept him out for the remainder of that season. In 2023, stingers were an issue for him late in the year as he missed three regular season games, but he worked his way back to the field to finish out the season and playoffs.
The veteran shared that he was contemplating retirement following the 2023 season, saying during the Bills' locker room cleanout that it was something that he wasn't in a rush to decide, but would discuss with his family.
Hyde found a home in Buffalo after playing the first four years of his career with the Green Bay Packers, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2013 draft. He recorded 16 interceptions with Buffalo and 42 passes defensed. He also was a key leader for both the defense and the team as a whole.
