The Buffalo Bills made one of the more intriguing signings in last year’s offseason when they signed Michael Hoecht, who was a versatile edge rusher coming over from the Los Angeles Rams. In his first five seasons out in LA, Hoecht recorded 17.5 sacks along with 180 total tackles (his career high being 81 in 2023).
He also managed to be part of a Super Bowl winning team when the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022, so he has that experience of being part of a championship team. The Bills brought Hoecht to Buffalo on a three-year deal, but his first year with the Bills was one to forget.
Michael Hoecht's first season with Bills was completely forgettable
Hoecht was suspended for violating the league’s PED policy, and ended up missing the first six games. Once his suspension was served, he came back the week of the Bills’ bye week, and then he only ended up playing in one full game against the Carolina Panthers.
Hoecht ended up showing off his aggression and creating pressure, finishing the game with 1.5 sacks and he also forced a fumble. That game showed Bills Mafia a glimpse of what was to come, and it’s safe to say that there was a ton of excitement. However, the very next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, Hoecht ended up suffering an achilles injury that ended his season.
Luckily, it seems like Hoecht's injury has not caused a setback up to this point, and there is a good belief that he will be ready for Week 1 when the Bills head down to Houston to take on the Texans.
With the defense going under a new scheme with Jim Leonhard in charge, Hoecht will have the chance to truly shine in a 3-4 defense rather than the 4-2-5 that Sean McDermott was running.
Jim Leonhard points out versatility factor that Michael Hoecht can help with for 2026
Leonhard spoke with the media about Hoecht and didn’t just talk about how he “knocked his rehab out of the park” but then also talked about Hoecht’s versatility and how it could be used, per WGRZ’s Jonathan Acosta.
“Anytime you go through an injury like he did and you just see the positivity that he has, he wants to be out there every play. He has that mindset where he wants to be out there every play…We weren’t sure, going through that process, exactly where he was going to be. Come Day 1 of training camp, he knocked the rehab out of the park and he’s been able to be out there.” said Leonhard.
“He’s one of the guys who has shown a ton of versatility throughout his career, and what he’s been asked to do, whether it’s first or second down, or third downs. You know that there is certain things we can get to that he’s done before that maybe to some of the other guys that it would be new to.” Leonhard added.
The #Bills didn't know where Michael Hoecht would be come Day 1 of camp, but Jim Leonhard says Hoecht "knocked his rehab out of the park" and has been able to practice with the defense.
— Jonathan Acosta (@JAcostaTV) August 6, 2026
Says there are certain things for which they know they can use Hoecht's versalitity@WGRZ pic.twitter.com/plYY8gvwsh
Hoecht has the versatility to line up at defensive end or outside linebacker, making him very valuable to what Leonhard is trying to put together. We already know that Leonhard will be all about putting together different schemes that involve chasing the quarterback on a consistent basis.
There’s no doubt that Buffalo’s defense is going to be different this year, but fans are hoping that they will see the Hoecht that they saw in Week 8 last season against the Panthers.
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