Micah Hyde Signs Bills Practice Squad Contract; Safety Will Retire After NFL Season

Micah Hyde is returning to Buffalo.

The veteran safety and the Buffalo Bills agreed to a practice squad contract, the team announced on Wednesday.

"Micah Hyde is in a practice squad role," Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said of Hyde's deal, per Alec White of BuffaloBills.com. "Extremely confident in Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin and Cole Bishop."

Hyde told reporters he is feeling "way, way better" than he did at the end of the 2023 campaign but added "you can guarantee" that he will be retiring after this season ends.

"I just wanted to come back and do anything I could do to help," he said. "Whether, 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. And I'm ready to excel now."

Hyde played the last seven seasons for the Bills and became a fixture in their defensive backfield during one of the most successful stretches in franchise history. However, his future was very much up in the air after the 2023 campaign.

"I just have no idea what the future holds right now" he told reporters following the playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. "I'm going to sit down and maybe in a couple of weeks or something and talk to the wife and talk to the family. But we'll see. I'm in no rush at all right now."

He remained a free agent well into the 2024 season after he told reporters in May he will either return to the Bills or retire.

There was also the reality that Hyde is 33 years old and missed three games in 2023 with neck concerns after missing all but two games in 2022 with a neck injury that required surgery. Given his age, the injury history and his status as a free agent, the writing seemed to be on the wall for his time in Buffalo.

That was especially the case after his wife, Amanda, wrote a thank you message to Bills fans on social media.

"Thank you for making this place our home," she wrote, in part. "Thank you for being so good to us. Thank you for making each season so special. And thank you for making this place so hard to leave. You will always have a piece of our hearts, and man, do we love you guys!"

Alas, there will be no goodbyes for now as he is returning.

He spent the first four years of his career on the Green Bay Packers but broke through as a Pro Bowler in his first season with Buffalo in 2017 with 82 tackles, 13 passes defended and five interceptions.

While the Bills haven't won a Super Bowl with him on the roster, he played a big role in the team reaching the postseason each season from 2019 to 2023.

Hyde now joins a Bills squad that has opened the season 10-2, which has allowed it to clinch the AFC East.

Buffalo and Hyde will surely have the Lombardi Trophy in their sights following this deal as he attempts to build on a 2023 effort that saw him post 54 tackles, seven passes defended and two interceptions. While he will start out on the practice squad, Hyde provides the Bills with experienced depth at the safety position.