Micah Hyde is back!!! After never quite closing the door for a potential return in the 2024 season, Hyde has returned to the Buffalo Bills for one last ride as a practice squad member.
As noted below, the team had never really closed the door on a return.
In May, he had stated that he would either return as a Bill or retire at his annual charity softball event.
Even in August, they reaffirmed that the door was not closed.
Looking at everything from a medical perspective, there is some risk in bringing Hyde back for one final go-around. Today’s article will rehash the offseason to look at the concern as a whole.
I said this about his prospects for returning in March just before free agency.
S Micah Hyde
This is the hardest one to put on this list because of what he meant to the team since 2017. He was a consistent force and elevated his play to heights that no one could have imagined when he signed here.
Unfortunately, he dealt with neck injuries throughout his career and they came to a head in 2022 when he suffered a neck injury severe enough to require a cervical fusion. He did come back in 2023 but suffered a series of stingers that caused him to miss a total of three games.
He also dealt with back and hamstring injuries early in the season and was also suggestive that his body started breaking down. With the release of Jordan Poyer and the injuries that Hyde suffered this year, it would be hard to imagine that he would want to come back to play football.
He could still find another team or re-sign with the Bills, but it’s more likely that he retires. Hopefully, he makes a decision that is in his best interest for him and his family.
Not putting himself through the rigors of training camp, the stress of the regular season can do wonders for a player with the miles on his body. For him to re-enter an NFL locker room for potentially the final time in his career to scratch that itch and make one last run, I don’t blame him for scratching.
There were and still are concerns about his health though and with the extended time off, I’m sure he feels great, but will there be concerns if he has to actually play?
Looking back through his injury history, we can see some clues.
Micah Hyde’s Injury History
2013 Green Bay Packers
Groin strain, Week 11, missed 0 games.
Shoulder injury, Week 16, missed 0 games.
2014 Packers
Knee injury, Week 2, missed 0 games.
2015 Packers
Neck injury, causing neck spasms during 4th preseason game. Missed 0 regular season games.
Quadricep injury, Week 9, missed 0 games.
Hip injury, Week 10, missed 1 game.
2016 Packers
No publicly reported injuries.
2017 Buffalo Bills
Knee soreness, Week 4, missed 0 games.
2018 Bills
Groin strain, Week 4, missed 1 game.
2019 Bills
Neck, Preseason, missed 1 preseason game.
Right knee contusion, Week 9, missed 0 games.
Left leg contusion, Week 13, missed 0 games.
2020 Bills
Left ankle sprain, Week 1, missed 0 games.
Left ankle sprain, Week 3, missed 0 games.
Concussion, Week 7, missed 1 game.
Ankle injury, suffered in practice Week 10, missed 0 games.
2021 Bills
Neck injury, suffered in practice prior to Week 2, missed 0 games.
Quadriceps injury, Week 3, missed 0 games.
Right thumb injury, known prior to Week 9, unknown when injury occurred. Wearing thumb spica and brace at times.
Back injury, Week 15, missed 0 games.
Forearm injury, Week 16, missed 0 games.
2022 Bills
Cervical Disc Herniation, Week 2, missed 17 total games.
2023 Bills
Back, Week 1, missed 0 games.
Right Hamstring, Week 2, missed 0 games.
Neck/Left-side stinger, Week 9, missed 1 game.
Neck/Left-side stinger, Week 14, missed 2 games.
Buffalo Bills Analysis
Looking back at the injury history over the last 11 years, Hyde has had his share of injuries as would any football player. The biggest concern is his neck which has been well-documented with his cervical fusion. He has had his share of soft tissue injuries as well but nothing has been persistent and a chronic issue.
With the idea that Hyde will be on the practice squad, this means he will have passed a physical which is key here. This means his neck is healthy enough to pass an NFL physical and play.
However, we know there are issues with cervical fusions and Hyde confirmed back in May that he does have them.
This is what I had stated in my article in late May during OTA’s:
Considering he is coming off the fusion and then had known additional issues indicates he is dealing with adjacent segment degeneration. Hyde confirmed this is going on during Eric Wood’s Centered on Buffalo podcast. You can go listen for yourself but towards the beginning of the episode, he noted how he had issues at multiple levels but he had only fused the more severe level. Had they fused multiple levels, he would not have been able to return to football as 2+ segment level fusion is usually a relative contraindication to return to contact sports. Exceptions can be made but the room for error decreases.
The stingers were the result of stenosis or narrowing around the cervical nerves coming out of the neck. A return to his prior level of play was observed but he was unable to maintain consistency due to the repeated stingers. The adjacent segment degeneration was the root cause of the stenosis leading to the stingers.
Hyde went on to say that he still wakes up sore at times in his neck indicating that there are further continued chronic issues in there.
Looking at everything as a whole, should Micah Hyde return to play? I had stated earlier this off-season that I didn’t think he would return. Based off the information that we have available, he probably shouldn’t return. But this is all about risk management. Hyde knows that if he retires, he likely won’t be able to return to play if he changes his mind.
The idea that he can skip OTAs and training camp and sign when he is needed is something afforded to many veterans. He may be able to squeeze one more year out of his body if there is a strong chance that he can win a championship. He has some of the best doctors available to him and knowing how he feels will determine ultimately what he does moving forward.
Whatever Micah Hyde does, I will understand and support the idea. There are risks with each decision but ultimately it is his decision and what is best for his family, his health, and career.
This also implies that he has been staying in shape up to this point to at least get back out there if called upon. The team did release WR Deon Cain on Monday to make room for Hyde, but this will also allow him to get back up to speed with the defense and practice without taking all the hits but work on his conditioning even further.
Potential Concerns
As mentioned above, the biggest issue is the neck. Can he play an NFL game? Yes.
Could he have gotten through an entire season with his neck the way it is and any other potential issues? Probably not.
The hope is that he can be a breakglass in case of emergency should Damar Hamlin or Taylor Rapp go down with an injury. This also allows Hyde to be in the building instead of getting called off his couch for a playoff game. NFL postseason teams still can only elevate two players to the active roster every week but have unlimited call-ups so if there is an injury, they don’t have to make any roster moves to bring Hyde to the active roster or anyone else for that matter.
Considering the practice squad roster spot that Hyde is taking, this is better than an active roster spot. While he is beloved and has paid his dues, he was not with the team for the majority of the regular season. To take someone’s job away to give to a veteran at the end of his career isn’t right. Putting him on the practice squad still does take someone’s job, that person being Deon Cain, but I believe anyone would argue that Hyde is more of an asset to the Bills locker room than another wide receiver.
We know his neck is still not 100 percent, that he confirmed and that is a concern. The worst-case scenario is that the neck still bothers him, he begins to ramp up and gets into a game, and he takes another bad hit leading to a stinger or another disc herniation that prevents him from playing. I would hate to see him re-appear in a game and leave due to injury and that be his last moments as a Bill. However, this could happen to any player at any moment. If Hyde was fearful about further injury, then he should not return. He knows the risks associated with suiting up again including further neck surgeries including other levels that need to be fused which may be in his future anyway.
There is also the concern of acclimation injuries such as groin, hamstring, or calf strains as he increases his workload to resume playing. I highly doubt this was a decision that was made last minute and the Bills have confirmed that he is staying in shape. But there is a difference between staying in shape and being in game shape. Hopefully, the time practicing with the team will help him get closer to game shape.
If Hyde can be available if called upon for these last two months, then I believe this is appropriate risk management. I’m not making the medical decisions, but this one appears safe to sign off on.
Let’s hope that we don’t have to break that glass for Hyde and if we do that, that it’s minimal playing time. Even if this does happen, we are talking potentially two months of football versus an entire season. I think the Bills would be in trouble if Hyde is starting playoff games for the team although the drop-off in talent wouldn’t be as severe. But if he’s playing, that means there likely isn’t a lot of depth behind him.
From a fan perspective, it’s awesome to see Micah Hyde back in a Bills uniform for hopefully one more ride that ends with a Super Bowl title to ride off into the sunset in retirement.
Top Photo Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY
