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Marcel Louis-JacquesESPN
BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo Bills and safety Micah Hyde have agreed a two-year contract extension, the team announced Friday, which kept him in Buffalo for the 2023 season.
The two-year extension is worth $ 19.25 million, the NFL network reported.
Pro Bowler in 2017, Hyde is one of the Bills ’defensive leaders and forms one of the league’s top security duos alongside Jordan Poyer.
Hyde was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season. Now, he, Poyer and cornerback Tre’Davious White are signed at least during the 2022 season. Each trio arrived in Buffalo during the same low season and Hyde said the trio came in focused on changing the culture within the Bills organization.
After winning the AFC Championship four years after his tenure, Hyde was not interested in giving up what he had helped build.
“We felt like when we got there on the 17th, obviously the organization wasn’t where we wanted to be and I thought for the last two years we were able to turn things around,” he said. “I would have had a big, empty pit in my stomach if I had ended up anywhere else, because this team is going in the right direction.”
Originally written by the Green Bay Packers in 2013, Hyde left Green Bay after the 2016 season, after the Packers told him during the season that they would not sign him again. Hyde said the experience “left a scar” and that “he can’t even express in words” what his first contract extension means to him.
It was a crucial point in my career where I really looked in the mirror and said, ‘We need to change that and improve,’ ”he said.“ I think with the opportunity I had in Buffalo, it came from the hand.
Since joining the Bills since 2017, Hyde is the Bills ’third striker with 282 combined attacks and ranks third with nine interceptions and 25 passing passes. It ended with 70 attacks and an interception in 2020.
In addition to his contributions to the field, Hyde has often attempted to play recruiter in recent seasons without success. He said anyone interested in joining the Bills is welcome, but has not forgotten the number of times their offers have been rejected in the past.
“I’d talk to some free agent guys I’m close to, we’d have conversations and they’ll go on a visit,” Hyde said. “I’d say, ‘Hey, man, come to Buffalo’ and they’ll say, ‘I’m fine, I’m going somewhere else.’
“Well, at the end of the day, I bet they’re pretty angry because they didn’t make those visits with Buffalo so they’d probably be sitting on a trash can or sitting on a couch somewhere else. That’s my wind., Like you could say, i’m a little angry to have been rejected so many times and the guys have thrown us under the rug. “
Bills GM Brandon Beane foreshadowed an extension during his end-of-season press conference, proclaiming his fondness for Hyde.
“I haven’t seen any Micah drops this year, so I can’t say I think it’s going to decline or anything like that,” Beane said. “I’m a big fan of Micah Hyde, just what he brings not only to the field, but also to our building. You made me feel. One of the most positive personalities around and just a super competitive guy. You wouldn’t feel that. -you only talk to him in an interview.You probably don’t feel competitive in an individual conversation.
“But when he’s on that field, he’s one of the most competitive guys and that’s what you like about him. I think he’ll still play for years in this league if he wants to.”