Amanda Hyde thanks Buffalo

Fostoria High School graduate Micah Hyde's time with the Buffalo Bills may have expired with the team's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago in the AFC divisional round of the NFL playoffs. The 11-year veteran safety's contract runs out next month, leaving the 33-year-old's NFL future up in the air between retirement and perhaps signing on either with the Bills or another team. In case it was Hyde's swan song in Buffalo, his wife, Amanda, wanted the city's rabid fans, known as "Bills Mafia," to know how she felt with a social-media post. "This is really the city of good neighbors, and what a privilege it has been," Amanda Hyde wrote on Instagram. "Thank you for making this place our home. Thank you for being so good to us. Thank you for making each season so special. And thank you for making this place so hard to leave. You will always have a piece of our hearts, and man, do we love you guys!" Micah, Amanda and their two young children have been spending their offseason in San Diego, which is Amanda's hometown, and they'll be heading back there soon with Micah's future mostly undetermined. He said, though, that they would return in the spring for his annual softball game to benefit his foundation, IMagINe for Youth. His annual youth football camp in Fostoria typically follows close on the heels of the softball game. That's right around the time of offseason workouts for the Bills, which may occur without Hyde's involvement for the first time since 2016. "I'm keeping all of my options open, and I know we'll be back here for the softball game, which will be good to be around teammates and friends and kids, and I'm excited for that," he said of the event, which usually draws the team's biggest stars and thousands of spectators for an offense vs. defense matchup. "Buffalo will always be home to us. We'll always want to spend time here. Who knows? Can't say what the future holds. As far as playing football here or anywhere else, I'm not sure." In her Instagram post, Amanda Hyde appealed to the fans to remain optimistic after their third straight season of seeing the Chiefs oust the Bills from the postseason. "Buffalo is special y'all" she wrote. "This might sting now, but believe this – this city will get theirs. And even if it may be our time to say goodbye, know that no matter where we go, or what may be next, the Hydes will happily be promoted from the roster to The Mafia, because when it all comes down to it, where else would you rather be than right here, right now?" The "Where else would you rather be" question was a pregame standard for Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy when he coached the Bills the four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s.