ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills love a good reunion.
Then again, Micah Hyde never officially cleaned out his locker and neither side ever closed the door on a return. Hyde walked back in the door Wednesday, officially signing to Buffalo’s practice squad.
After 12 games, it seemed Hyde wasn’t going to return. He was happy living in San Diego and the Bills didn’t appear to need massive safety help, as Damar Hamlin has played 98% of the defensive snaps and Taylor Rapp has hardly left the field aside from a concussion that caused him to miss 1 ½ games.
From general manager Brandon Beane to head coach Sean McDermott to quarterback Josh Allen, all admitted to staying in touch with Hyde throughout the season. Hyde said a few other teams called but stuck to his word that he would play for the Bills or no one.
While he wasn’t signed to a team after his contract expired in March, Hyde continued to workout in San Diego with trainers and a Peloton in his garage, while coaching his son’s youth soccer team. But when defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was re-signed Nov. 6, Hyde reached out to congratulate his former teammate.
Phillips then asked when Hyde was coming back and their conversation ended with Phillips putting word to Beane that he might like to return. Ultimately Hyde decided to re-sign with Buffalo in the lead-up to last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Hyde also said that he would officially retire at the end of the season.
“I just wanted to come back and do anything I could do to help,” Hyde said. “If it’s helping young guys understand the NFL on and off the field, older guys helping them with what they got to do on the field, whatever it may be, I’m here to help.I’m an open book, and so I’m excited for this role, and it’s a new role for me.”
Hyde, who will be 34 on Dec. 31, told the GNN Sports prior to the playoffs last year that he was content with his family and what he accomplished during his career. That meant he was going to hang on to jeopardize his health or play at a diminished level to chase a Super Bowl ring.
One of the reasons Hyde decided not to return immediately was that he needed time to get healthy physically and mentally. Hyde injured his neck in Week 2 of 2022, missing the remainder of the season following neck surgery.
Hyde returned last season, but suffered a stinger against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9, causing him to miss the ensuing game. After returning for three games, Hyde sustained another stinger against the Chiefs, forcing him out for two more contests.
Healthy again, Hyde has followed the Bills all season. Hyde missed the locker room and seeing the team celebrate wins on social media, but he never felt like it was necessary to return.
“I wouldn’t say it was hard, because I was extremely happy for everybody here,” Hyde said. “It wasn’t like I was like, ‘Damn man, I should be there.’ Like, none of that. I was happy and I was living my best life in San Diego, so it was giving me time that I’ve never had and a new experience around my kids and being there 24/7 and all that type of stuff.”
The question now centers around when Hyde suits up for a game and what his role will be when that happens. McDermott said he was pleased with his current safeties in the roles they are playing and doesn’t plan to change them.
McDermott said Hyde’s role right now is to be on the practice squad and they would take it one day at a time. He also said that when the Bills traded for receiver Amari Cooper earlier in the season.
Hamlin is currently second on the team with 70 tackles, while Rapp is fourth with 62. Both players have a pair of interceptions.
“I’m very protective of the locker room and not only now, but for sure now, but also any time of year, especially once we’re kind of into the spring and you’re looking to drop a new person in,” McDermott said. “… It’s got to be the right person, the player, yes, but the right person based on where this team currently is, not in terms of record, but in terms of where they’re at with the relationships and different pieces of the puzzle.”
McDermott’s views on locker room relationships is a big part of why 16 players have left for another team and returned. Although Hyde didn’t sign with another team, he’s the third player — Phillips and Quinton Jefferson — to re-sign with the Bills in less than a month.
Some of it is continuity and familiarity with McDermott and the scheme. That’s why 14 players who played for McDermott in Carolina were signed during his early years with the Bills.
“Seeing the smiles, and being actually wanted, it’s a hell of a drug,” Phillips said after re-signing. :You can do a lot for people when it’s in the right environment.”
NOTES: WR Keon Coleman (wrist), TE Dalton Kincaid (knee), TE Quintin Morris (shoulder/groin) and WR Curtis Samuel (foot) were all limited in Wednesday’s walk-through. … DT DeWayne Carter (wrist) and OT Tylan Grable (groin) were full participants and are eligible to return from injured reserve.