BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Bills are bringing back a very familiar face, signing safety Jordan Poyer to the practice squad.
The deal is similar to what the team did with former starting safety Micah Hyde last season, signing him to the practice squad in December. Hyde did not end up playing for the Bills, but helped as a support to the defense, specifically the team's young defensive backs, however, this signing is much earlier in the year.
"I'm just extremely thankful. Coming here in 2017, this team is on a totally different side of the map as it was then," Poyer said. "It's awesome to see even being in Miami last year, I'm paying attention to everything that's going on out here. These are my guys, these are my friends, my teammates that I've been with for a long time."
Poyer first spoke with the organization in May. He also talked to Hyde about his experience on the practice squad last year and noted that it was humbling to not be out there with the first- or second-team defense.
The Bills are going into this season with some questions about where the safety group stands as second-year safety Cole Bishop prepares to start the season with veteran Taylor Rapp, but general manager Brandon Beane said that the Poyer signing was not a reflection of any concern for the group.
The Bills also brought back veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips to the practice squad for his fourth stint with the team.
"Both [Poyer and Phillips] have had great impacts here," general manager Brandon Beane said. "First off on the field, but ... culture, character, leadership, all those things, you can't find enough guys like that. When you've got guys, in this case, who have given so much and been a part of the success we've had here that want to come back and be on the practice squad, prepare themselves to play if and when called on, but also mentor guys around them, young guys, young vets."
Poyer, 34, previously spent 2017-2023 with the Bills, initially signing a four-year deal with the team in 2017. Over the next seven seasons he formed one of the NFL's best safety tandems alongside Hyde. He is credited with helping the Bills break a 17-year playoff drought during his first season with the team and was a fan favorite throughout his time there. He was named to one Pro Bowl (2022) and selected as a first-team All-Pro (2021) during his time in Buffalo.
In his time away, Poyer was with an AFC East foe, signing a one-year, $2 million contract with the Miami Dolphins last offseason after the Bills released him last March. A longtime resident of South Florida, he viewed the signing as effectively a homecoming.
The 2021 first-team All-Pro finished second on the team with 98 tackles while playing 96% of the team's defensive snaps. He has been banged up frequently but is known for his toughness and ability to play through minor injuries; he has missed just nine games in the past eight seasons, five of which occurred during the 2022 season.
"Last year, put asterisk by it," Poyer said. "It was, it was a tough year all around. I'm not gonna, you throw anything at what went down over there. But at same time it was hard year. And again, I'm just extremely thankful to be here. And I still feel like I got a lot left to prove to myself, to this game, to the people around me. And I keep the receipts."
Poyer was a seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 but was released midway through his rookie season. He signed with the Cleveland Browns and spent four seasons with them until his tenure was abruptly cut short by an illegal hit in October of the 2016 season. Poyer was blindsided during a punt return and suffered a lacerated kidney and missed the remainder of the season.
He has 24 interceptions, 904 tackles, 12 sacks, 57 passes defended and 9 forced fumbles in 12 seasons.
ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this report.