Defensive Back Micah Hyde has signed with the Buffalo Bills. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, his new deal is for five years and will pay him $30 million with $14 million guaranteed. Hyde spent the first four seasons of his career with the Green Bay Packers.
The #Bills are giving Micah Hyde $30M over 5 years, source said. $32.5M max. $14M guaranteed
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2017
Micah Hyde Signs With the Buffalo Bills
Hyde is a difficult player to pay because he plays multiple positions. This past season, as Green Bay ran the table to finish 10-6 and NFC North champions, Hyde played deep safety, nickelback, cornerback, and strong safety.
Hyde is part of this new group of defensive backs who are jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. He is very good in most areas, but not great. Hyde is not particularly fast nor is he the strongest defensive back, so he can get exposed in man coverage.
He usually lined up on the inside of the field and covered tight ends. However, by season’s end last year, he was covering receivers on the outside and even picked off Matthew Stafford in the end zone.
The best play of Hyde’s season was when he intercepted Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott out of the slot (or nickel formation) in the third quarter of the Divisional Round Game.
Hyde is a very good tackler averaging 46 solo tackles a year for his career. He has also eight interceptions on his résumé including three in 2016, which tied a career-high. In 2016, he also had nine passes defended, which is a new career-high.
So, how do you pay him? Do you pay him as a safety or a corner? It is a similar situation to when Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints went to negotiation in July 2014. The Saints wanted to pay Graham as a tight end as opposed to a wide receiver, because tight ends are considerably cheaper.
Green Bay is also in a dire situation since the secondary was awful last season – partly due to injuries – but also poor play. Hyde is a special talent that can provide depth at a handful of positions and help out on special teams. He has returned three punts for touchdowns thus far in his career.
