Buffalo Bills: 7 Best Free Agent Signings in Team History
By Ryan Brennan
C Kent Hull – 1986
Kent Hull broke onto the scene as a member of the New Jersey Generals, a team in the USFL from 1983-1985. He was the center that paved the way for former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker for those three years. He would begin his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills in 1986 and was immediately named the team’s starter.
The 1986 season was a pivotal year for Buffalo, which saw Marv Levy take over as head coach after 9 games. After going 2-5 the rest of the year and 7-8 the next season, Hull and Levy would receive Thurman Thomas through the draft. The rest is history — the history we know so well.
Kent Hull would be a key part of the Bills’ offense and it lasted his whole career in the NFL. He would spend 11 years in the league, all with Buffalo. He was very reliable, only missing 6 games in that span.
Hull was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1988, 1989 and 1990 paving the way for Thurman Thomas. With Hull, Thomas started his career with 1,000 yards in 8 of 9 seasons. Ironically, Thomas’ last 1,000 yard season came right before Hull retired. That goes to show the importance of having Kent Hull on this team.
In 2013, the state of Mississippi inherited the Kent Hull Trophy, which is given out to the best collegiate offensive lineman in the state of Mississippi. Hull was part of an unfortunate death in 2011 that was caused from a gastrointestinal bleed that rooted from chronic liver disease.
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