Getty Micah Hyde #23 of the Buffalo Bills reacts after an interception during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2022.
After a rest day, the Buffalo Bills were back on the field at St. John Fisher College on Friday, July 29 for Day 5 of training camp. During practice, safety Micah Hyde went down “hard on his right side/hip/leg” after dropping an interception from quarterback Josh Allen, per 13 WHAM anchor Dan Fetes.
“Hyde down after dropping an INT in 11-on-11,” Spectrum News 1 reporter Jon Scott tweeted. Fellow veteran safety “Jordan Poyer immediately signaled for trainers as Hyde took helmet off while face down.”
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While the situation appeared incredibly scary at first, the 31-year-old was able to exit the field with minor assistance. 13WHAM reporter Mike Catalana tweeted, “Hyde down on field with trainers around him. He now limps off the field with some assistance.”
However, One Bills Live host Chris Brown reported he was eventually able to walk away on his own. “Micah Hyde after sustaining injury on field hopped off on his own but is being carted to locker room,” Brown tweeted.
The reaction of worry on Twitter was immediate, as Hyde, a team captain, is an integral part of the team’s defense, and an injury before the starts would be devastating. Bills reporter Sal Maiorana tweeted, “Micah Hyde limping off the field is not good. Not sure what is, but he was feeling some pain.”
Not Micah…
It seems Hyde was carted off using extreme caution. Catalana tweeted, “Hyde leaves field in passenger seat of a cart. Did not seem to be in any serious pain, but likely on his way for testing.”
Bills reporter Maddy Glab later clarified Hyde suffered a hip/glute injury, not a leg injury, as first reported. While he’s still being evaluated, around 1 p.m. ET on Friday, NFL.com‘s Ian Rapoport reported that Hyde’s injury “is considered relatively minor.”
Hyde Was Listed as the Top-12 Best Safety in the NFL
GettyCam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers deleivers a pass over pressure by Micah Hyde #23 of the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium on December 19, 2021.
The Bills enter the 2022 NFL season with incredibly high expectations, a true Super Bowl contender, and a huge part of that stems from the strength of Buffalo’s defense. Earlier this month, USA Today’s Doug Farrar ranked Hyde as the 12th best safety in the league.
“Hyde ranked seventh on our safety list last year after a 2020 season in which he allowed 15 catches on 27 targets for 143 yards, 46 yards after the catch, one touchdown, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 67.4,” Farrar wrote. “In 2021, Hyde was more opportunistic and more vulnerable, which puts him a bit below where he was before.”
If you know, you know. @J_poyer21 @micah_hyde #BillsMafia
Hyde, a former fifth-round pick from the 2013 NFL Draft, is “one-half of the NFL’s best safety tandem (along with Jordan Poyer,” Farrar continued.
“Hyde played all over the field while Poyer played mostly free safety. Hyde had 278 snaps in the box, 185 in the slot, 628 at free safety, 51 at the line, and four at outside cornerback. And on all those snaps, he allowed 20 catches on 29 targets for 211 yards, 38 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, six interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 89.9. Not quite the shutdown performer he was in 2020, but Hyde was also responsible for many more takeaways.”
Hyde Has Been Highly Complimentary of the Bills 2022 First-Round Pick
Micah Hyde is impressed with Kaiir Elam’s listening skills around the Bills veteran defensive backs.
“I can’t speak for him, but I feel like if I’m a young guy in his position, I’d feel real fortunate to step in that position.” @WGRZ
After Day 3 of training camp, the Bills 2022 first-round draft pick, Kaiir Elam, got the seal of approval from Hyde, who already has a nickname for the rookie cornerback. “I think with K he’s been fortunate enough to be put in a position, whether it’s the coaches we have in the secondary on defense or even the players, he’s able to step in right now with some guys that have been together for a long time,” Hyde said, per the Bills’ reporter Maddy Glab.
“So, he hears what we’re talking about, he hears how we see things in meetings. He can paint the picture himself just by asking the questions that he asks. I can’t speak for him, but I feel like if I’m a young guy in his position, I’d be really fortunate to step into that position. And we’re not asking him to be anything that he’s not, just go out there and play your ball.”
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Bills’ Safety Suffers Injury, ‘Carted to Locker Room’: Report