Buffalo Bills top-5 best moves of the 2019 off-season
By Avery Duncan
No. 3 Extending Jerry Hughes
Sometimes the best moves can come from in-house. Since being traded to the Bills in the 2013 off-season, defensive end Jerry Hughes has been a key-cog and star for the Buffalo defense. In 2015, the Bills decided to reward those efforts by signing him on for five more years on a $45 million deal. In May, the team re-upped their contract by tacking two-years for $21.5 million.
Though often overlooked by national media, Hughes is well-worth his extension. He’s never been a Pro Bowler, nor has he tallied double-digit sacks since 2014, but Hughes has been as impactful as any Bills defender currently rostered. His three-year sack total of 17 doesn’t truly do him justice, but analytics do.
Despite tallying seven sacks, Pro Football Focus considered Hughes to be one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL in 2018. Per their website, both Hughes’ pass-rush win rate of 23.9% and pressure rate of 19.7% were the highest in the league last season. His 88.8 overall grade was the highest of any Bills edge-defender in the PFF era (2006+).
Hughes is the best pass-rusher the Bills have, but extending him isn’t just an investment on taking down quarterbacks. The Bills certainly value his work on defense, but he’s equally as impressive as a leader. He’s a veteran presence that brings a nonstop work ethic that should be respected and replicated by the young defensive core.
With Hughes extended through 2021, the Bills can rest easy knowing that they have a constant on their defensive line. Hughes may not be the star or Pro Bowler that his tape says he is, but he’s long been the unsung hero of a stout, up-and-coming defense. Potentially letting him go after 2019 shouldn’t have been an option, now it doesn’t have to be.