We knew the Buffalo Bills would go into Sunday’s game against the Dolphins short-handed. We just didn’t know it would be a much larger problem, but Saturday afternoon the team announced that they were placing safety Micah Hyde on the second-ending injured reserve with a neck injury.
Many missed Hyde’s injury when it happened late in the second half of the Bills’ 41-7 win over the Titans because the team was up by so much. Starters were being pulled from the game, but Hyde was taken to the locker room on a cart.
He later texted fellow safety Jordan Poyer that he was fine. Unfortunately, that was not the case according to his doctors.
Since both coming to the Bills as free agents in 2017, Hyde and Poyer have established themselves as one of the NFL’s top safety tandems. The two were tied with a team-leading five interceptions last season and are viewed among many as the captains of the defense.
Replacing Hyde will be tremendously difficult for the Bills, who are already without Pro Bowl cornerback Tre’Davious White, who is on the IR as he recovers from last year’s ACL tear.
The Bills will likely move safety Jaquan Johnson into the starting lineup for the remainder of the season. The fourth-year-pro has been a team favorite since being drafted in the 6th-round out of Miami (FL). He consistently impressed in preseason and during his spot starts, but he has remained a backup to Hyde and Poyer during his time in Buffalo.
But his time on the sidelines has come to an end, and the Bills will hope that he is ready.
On Sunday, the Bills will likely also activate Cam Lewis, who made the team as the final cornerback but was also working out as a safety during the preseason. It’s possible that Lewis showed enough in the preseason to earn a spot as the team’s fourth safety for the rest of the year. If not, the Bills will need to sign somebody since they have no other safeties on their practice squad or active roster.
Regardless of which way the Bills attempt to move forward, the loss of Hyde as a leader and steadying presence in the secondary cannot be overstated. However, injuries are also part of the journey for most Super Bowl teams. As Von Miller said earlier in the week, “You need depth and your core foundation players to play well.”
The Bills lost one of those core players today but will have to hope that their depth can step up and get this team where it wants to go.
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