Hyde did not see the field this year for the Buffalo Bills, combatting the effects of a serious neck surgery, but he did sign to the Bills’ practice squad in December and has been serving in more of an advisory role for younger players. He’s been with Buffalo since 2017, a tenure that corresponds with the Bills’ rise into an AFC powerhouse, albeit one that has been stopped short of the Super Bowl as they were Sunday by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hyde spent his first four seasons with the Packers, drafted in the fifth round out of Iowa in the 2013 draft, and he appeared in 63 games with eight interceptions. He mostly played slot corner, out of position in the scheme crafted by defensive coordinator Dom Capers.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson somewhat famously did not offer a contract to Hyde after the 2016 season, and Hyde instead signed a five-year, $30 million deal with the Bills. That first season, he immediately made the Pro Bowl and earned the first of his two second-team All-Pro nods.
Meanwhile, the Packers rotated through a number of safeties trying to patch up the opening on defense — Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Kentrell Brice, Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens among them. Not until the team signed Xavier McKinney in free agency before the 2024 season and spent significant draft capital on the position did it seem the Packers had addressed a spot that had become a team weakness.
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Hyde started all 95 regular-season games he was able to play for Buffalo, plus nine postseason games. He hauled in 18 interceptions, forced six fumbles, made 456 tackles, recovered nine fumbles and made second-team All-Pro again in 2021.
