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Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills Reportedly Agree to 5-Year Contract
March 9, 2017
Defensive back Micah Hyde has struck a deal with the Buffalo Bills.
ESPN's Field Yates and WKBW's Joe Buscaglia reported Hyde the news.
Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Hyde will receive up to $32.5 million over five years with $14 million guaranteed.
Hyde spent the first four years of his career with the Green Bay Packers. He was a fifth-round draft pick out of Iowa in 2013, emerging from the shadows of obscurity to appear in all 16 games during his rookie season.
Last season, in an injury-ravaged year for the Packers secondary with Quinten Rollins and Damarious Randall missing a combined nine games, Hyde was thrust into the spotlight and helped keep the team afloat long enough to make a deep playoff run.
Hyde started a career-high 11 games in 2016 and tied his career high with three interceptions. Per Pro Football Focus (h/t Matthew Cohen of Baltimore Beatdown), the 26-year-old finished among the top-25 cornerbacks with a 77.1 grade against the run and 985 total snaps.
Per John Gatta of Pro Football Focus, Hyde saved one of his best performances in a Packers' uniform for that memorable NFC Divisional Round Game against the Dallas Cowboys:
The Bills needed another cornerback with Stephon Gilmore expected to sign with the New England Patriots, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Hyde is a solid defensive back who is at his best when he doesn't have to be the No. 1 player on a team. He helped the Packers with a bigger role in 2016, but there was a reason he hadn't been given that much responsibility in his first three seasons.
As long as the Bills understand Hyde's limitations and put him in situations that maximize his value, he will provide a key boost to the secondary in 2017 and beyond.