When the Buffalo Bills take on the Miami Dolphins this weekend, they'll be a bit shorthanded in the secondary. Safety Micah Hyde, who has been on injured reserve since Week 2, is not yet ready to return. According to head coach Sean McDermott, Hyde would also not be ready to return if the Bills advanced to the divisional round.
"After that I don't know," McDermott said, via ESPN. "It's kind of one of those things like, wake me up when ... tap me on the shoulder when he's ready."
The neck injury that sidelined Hyde back in September was initially expected to keep him out until next season, but the Bills recently designated for him to return from injured reserve and opened his 21-day practice window. However, it appears the Bills will have to make it at least as far as the AFC title game before he is able to get back on the field.
In Hyde's absence, Damar Hamlin had been operating as the other starting safety next to Jordan Poyer. Hamlin is also obviously unavailable to play after being placed on injured reserve following his on-field cardiac arrest during a game against the Bengals. (Hamlin has been discharged from the hospital, and there is optimism surrounding his recovery.)
Last week against the Patriots, Dean Marlowe took all the snaps as the safety opposite Poyer, and he would likely do the same for at least the next two weeks until Hyde is ready to return.
