Micah Hyde leaving Green Bay Packers for Buffalo Bills

Leaving the Green Bay Packers in free agency will be safety Micah Hyde, who will now be playing for the Buffalo Bills in 2017.

As expected, free agent safety Micah Hyde will not be returning to the Green Bay Packers. After four years with Green Bay, the former fifth-round pick out of Iowa will be heading eastward to play for the Buffalo Bills.

The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Hyde would be leaving the Packers for the Bills. Is this a good move for the veteran defensive back now entering his prime? For a five-year deal worth $32.5 million and $14 million guaranteed, definitely.

In the short-term, yes, it’s tough to leave Green Bay. The Packers have built a strong football culture over the years but may have seen their championship window close. Green Bay has an elite quarterback in Aaron Rodgers but doesn’t seem to have the great talent around him necessary to win a Super Bowl.

The secondary was particularly bad for the Packers in 2016. That unit really held the Packers back from getting to Super Bowl LI in Houston. Leaving for the Bills is a bit of caveat emptor for Hyde, but there may be some method to this madness.

Buffalo has a new defensive-minded head coach in Sean McDermott. He was formerly the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles before that. McDermott played safety back in college at William & Mary in the 1990s and had been the Eagles secondary coach under then head coach Andy Reid.

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It comes as no surprise that McDermott has prioritized re-tooling his secondary in his first year in Orchard Park. Instead of giving all that money to cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the Bills are using a big chunk of change on a solid safety in Hyde.