For the fifth time in five seasons, the Bills clinched the AFC East crown and are headed to the postseason with at least one playoff game in Orchard Park. At 10-2, and with only five regular season games remaining, the Bills are in the clear driver’s seat to at least obtain the AFC’s No. 2 seed, which would secure two postseason home games if they advance past the Wild Card round. And should the No. 1 Chiefs slip up and have the same record as the Bills, the Bills would move into the top seed.
Outside of a brief two-game losing streak to the Ravens and Texans, the season could not have gone much better through the first 12 games. Quarterback Josh Allen is playing the best football of his career, the offense continues to post 30-plus point games, the defense has specialized at getting off the field in key moments and their Super Bowl chances seem as good as they ever have.
But as the season has gone along, even beginning with training camp in late July, the cloud hovering over the franchise is about longtime starting safety Micah Hyde and whether he would return to the team for one last push for a championship. One of the first Bills to join the Sean McDermott operation as a free agent in 2017, Hyde, 33, has been one of the best safeties in franchise history. He hemmed and hawed at the end of the 2023 season about his future, but since then, has yet to provide any definitive decision as to whether he has decided to retire. And the longer it’s gone on without a decision, the more the speculation grows.
So with the Bills entering their final five games of the season, here is why the intriguing Hyde scenario could be something to monitor sooner rather than later.
Why bringing Micah Hyde back would make sense now
While there was a lot of chatter early in the year of Hyde returning to action, it didn’t seem realistic until later in the season for a few reasons. The likely most important factor is that Hyde has a history of neck injuries, so subjecting himself to a full season of potential re-injury before he calls it a career may not have been a logical scenario. On top of that, at the end of the 2023 season, Hyde — a self-proclaimed family man — talked a great deal about spending a lot of time with his wife and children as he contemplated his future. Getting the chance to have a normal Thanksgiving holiday without the presence of football, along with the ever-present conversation about his neck injury history, kept the likelihood of him returning before December at a small chance.
The kicker to the situation is that the Bills likely had to be in a position to make a title push if Hyde was going to give it one last go-round. Hyde has obsessed about getting to the Super Bowl in Buffalo since he arrived in 2017, so it wouldn’t have made any sense for him to commit to playing, given all his other reasons, without knowing he’d have one last chance to win it all. Now with the Bills at 10-2, already division champions and only one Chiefs loss from sliding into the AFC’s No. 1 seed, Hyde couldn’t have asked for a better situation. If it’s going to happen, the timing and opportunity now appear right.
Is there a roster spot for Hyde?
Yes, there is when you consider the state of the roster at some other positions. The Bills went through a pair of significant injuries at wide receiver to Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman, which caused them to miss games. Cooper has already returned, while Coleman seems quite close after having practiced the entire week leading up to the 49ers game. Coleman’s health would give the Bills six healthy receivers, and their usual operating procedure has been to carry five on the 53-man roster.
Due to those injuries to Cooper and Coleman, the Bills signed practice squad receiver Jalen Virgil to their 53-man roster just ahead of their win over the Colts in early November. Because of that timing, Virgil has already spent the required minimum of three weeks on the 53-man roster for practice squad promotions by the CBA, and would be eligible to be waived to make room for Hyde.
And at safety, the Bills have carried only three on their roster since Nov. 5, the day they released veteran safety Mike Edwards. Since then, the trio of Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin and Cole Bishop have been the only safeties on the team. If it came to needing a fourth starter, they would probably entrust backup nickel corner Cam Lewis because he has experience there, but they are missing that fourth safety. That’s where Hyde would fit in.
What would Hyde’s role be?
That’s what would be the most unclear. From a locker room perspective, it would be a home run. Hyde is a universally beloved player by his teammates, and with the majority of the locker room having been with the team in 2023, it would be an easy assimilation for Hyde despite being away from football since January.
On the field, the Bills have been outstanding for many games in a row, and they may not want to tinker with the starting lineup while they’re on a winning streak. However, the Bills just went through the same thing with the return of linebacker Matt Milano after his nearly 14-month layoff due to injury, and Milano was immediately inserted into the starting lineup over second-year linebacker Dorian Williams.
The player Hyde would most likely enter the lineup for would be Hamlin, who won the starting job out of training camp partially due to long injuries to Bishop and Edwards. Although Hamlin has had his struggles in 2024, he has certainly improved. However, Hyde, even in his 2023 form, would be an upgrade over what Hamlin has given the Bills this year. The Bills can’t replace Hamlin with just anyone without potentially upsetting the locker room, but Hyde wouldn’t be just anyone, just like Milano wasn’t just anyone. These are players who have proven their worth on the field and helped the Bills win a lot of games through the years.
It is notable that, despite some struggles this season by Hamlin, the Bills have never considered the idea of replacing him with the rookie Bishop. The second-round pick is likely the future starter at the position. If they had made Bishop the starter only to bench him upon Hyde’s return, that would have been a far different message to send than having Hyde replace Hamlin. Hamlin is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and has long had a great relationship with Hyde. Plus, Hyde would likely need some time to get back up to speed.
Is Hyde’s return actually going to happen?
The Bills are usually highly intentional in how they answer speculative questions. In most cases, if they are asked about something that doesn’t have to do directly with the players on their roster, they’ve deferred to the popular cliché of “focusing on the players in the building.” But they have not shut it down anytime Hyde has been brought up in a news conference.
In late August, just ahead of the start of the season, general manager Brandon Beane addressed the Hyde situation.
“[We] love Micah and we have not closed the door on that,” Beane said. “And as far as I understand, I don’t think Micah has either. We’ll stay in touch.”
In July, Beane also said that Hyde was “staying ready.”
When speaking on his playing future ahead of training camp, Hyde said that the only franchise he would consider returning to would be the Bills. And without him announcing his retirement or having any kind of public closure, it has remained a possibility all season.
Within the last month, Allen, who is usually well-polished at a news conference, had a rare moment of getting caught by surprise without a go-to answer. Taken aback a bit, Allen said on the potential reunion, “That would be great, but depending on… I don’t know what you want me to say.” Allen later said he has chatted with Hyde, and believes the entire locker room would welcome the safety back with open arms.
And if you’re into signs from the franchise, there are two pretty pertinent ones. They have not issued Hyde’s No. 23 at any stage of the 2024 season, whether in training camp, the regular season or to anyone on the practice squad. And Hyde’s longtime locker stall, prime real estate near the center of the locker room with a lot of space around it, remains vacant.
The stage has been set for Hyde’s eventual return since the day the 2024 season began. Ultimately, it’s up to him and his family, with it being a complex decision due to his long-term neck injury that cost him the rest of his season in 2022. But at the end of the day, Hyde is a competitor and badly wants to win a Super Bowl in Buffalo.
The team is in as good of a condition as it has been since McDermott arrived, which makes the opportunity a clear one. And the context clues about an eventual return are all over the place when analyzing the entire situation. Now that the schedule is into December, there is an extremely compelling case for Hyde to rejoin the Bills for the final run and postseason push.
(Top photo of Micah Hyde: Rich Barnes/ Getty Images)
