Each NFL team’s worst contract on the books entering 2019
By Brad Weiss
Buffalo Bills: Jerry Hughes
In April of 2013, Jerry Hughes was traded to the Buffalo Bills by the Indianapolis Colts. He has been a starter for the team since the 2014 NFL season. When he arrived in Buffalo, he was one of the better sack men in the league, racking up 10 sacks in back-to-back seasons, but he has not reached double-digit sacks in a while.
In fact, Hughes has not reached 10 or more sacks since that 2014 season, though he did have his best season since in 2018. Last season, Hughes got to the quarterback seven times. While that is solid production, you can usually pay a lower price tag than that in today’s NFL.
During the 2019 NFL season, Hughes will be the No. 2 cap hit on this Bills roster, as he will cost Buffalo $10.4 million against the cap. Heading into his age-31 season, Hughes is entering the last year of his contract, but has a cap hit of less than $3 million. So his days in Buffalo could be numbered.
The Bills have a lot of work to do with this roster, as they took a big step back after making the playoffs for the first time since 1999 back in 2017. Head coach Sean McDermott is a defensive-minded coach, and got good production from Hughes in 2019.
That being said, cutting him could save the team $8 million. The Bills have to make numerous moves if they want to be competitive this upcoming season.