3 Bills who won’t be back next year after heartbreaking loss to Chiefs
By John Buhler
The Buffalo Bills should expect to lose these three players in free agency this offseason.
A season of great promise ended in total heartbreak for the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round.
Buffalo was 13 seconds away from hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 AFC Championship Game. Unfortunately, their defense fell apart to allow the Kansas City Chiefs to force overtime. Once the Chiefs won the coin toss, everybody had a feeling Patrick Mahomes would find a way to get it done at home. As for the Bills, it was a great season, but one where they came up short.
With the Bills now turning the page to 2022, here are three free agents who may not be back.
Buffalo Bills: 3 players they should anticipate losing in NFL free agency
DE. Jerry Hughes. Pick Analysis. 3. player. 16. Scouting Report. Buffalo Bills
Jerry Hughes may not get to play a 10th season in front of Bills Mafia in 2022
While Jerry Hughes has been a mainstay along the Bills defensive line for nearly a decade, he may not get a 10th year in Orchard Park. Hughes will be entering his age-34 season out of TCU. Though he has registered 53 sacks in Bills uniform, he is coming off a campaign where he only managed two. This is his lowest sack total since his second year in the NFL with the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.
Not only has the production not been there, but Hughes is expensive. He has the highest average annual value of any Bills player hitting free agency at $10.75 million. Though Buffalo would probably love to have him back, it will not be for that money. Brandon Beane and his front office will have to fine-tune this roster to best figure out how to get back to the AFC Championship.
While there is a chance a savvy veteran like Hughes could take a hometown discount to stay with the Bills, he only has so many years left in the league. Someone else would love to have him, especially either team that potentially hires Brian Daboll or Leslie Frazier to be their next head coach. It remains to be seen if Hughes will return, but let’s not bank on year 10 here just yet.
Hughes has been a big part of this team’s corps for so long, but Buffalo is at a crossroads here.