As the Buffalo Bills and NFL move towards free agency and the 2022 NFL Draft, my position-by-position "State of the Bills" offseason series continues with a look at the safeties:
Under contract:
- Micah Hyde
- Jordan Poyer
- Jaquan Johnson
- Damar Hamlin
- Josh Thomas
Pending Free Agents:
- None
State of the position:
What more can you say or write about a position that has two All-Pros, both who’ve been with the organization for five years, are leaders of the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL last year, and both still under contract?
Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are the epitome of what the Bills have been about since head coach Sean McDermott’s arrival in 2017, which coincides with both of their arrivals, as well, as free agents.
Since then, both have also signed contract extensions. Poyer prior to 2020, which runs one more year, and Hyde prior to last season, which runs for two more.
The Bills are set at safety for, at least, another year, and very possibly beyond. The only question is what happens behind those two if either of them get hurt or miss time? That’s been the question for a few years, considering how durable and reliable both have been.
In fact, Poyer and Hyde have each missed exactly two games in five seasons with the Bills. That’s remarkable durability.
The team drafted Johnson in 2019 out of the University of Miami. After three seasons, he’s become a very valuable special teams player, and is usually the first one in for either Poyer or Hyde if either comes out. That’s what happened Week 4 against the Houston Texans when Johnson started in the lone game Poyer missed.
Johnson played over 62% of special teams snaps this season, and is the personal protector on the punt team, making the calls. He’ll go into the last year of his rookie contract in 2022.
Hamlin made the team after being drafted in the sixth round last year. He played in 14 games, almost exclusively on special teams, but did get 50 total snaps on defense. He was inactive twice, and now enters his second year looking to expand his role.
The Bills really like Thomas, and it shows, as not only have they kept him on the practice squad in each of his first two seasons after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2020, but also protected him almost every week last year. That meant no other team could sign him away from the Bills through the week.
It’s just been too hard for him to see the active roster with the quality of talent in front of him. But Thomas will try once again to do that next year when he returns to camp after signing a Reserve/Future deal.
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