Kansas City Chiefs: 3 potential NFL cut candidates to pursue
By Josh Fann
Buffalo Bills DE Jerry Hughes
One veteran defensive end that could see himself become a casualty this offseason is Buffalo Bills pass-rusher Jerry Hughes. This one may come as a bit of a surprise to people but there have been rumors floating around for a couple weeks now that Hughes could be on the roster bubble.
It makes sense considering that the Bills are going through a bit of a youth movement on the defensive line with the additions of 2021 Draftees Greg Rousseau and Carlos Basham. They also invested highly in A.J. Epenesa the year before that. Cutting Hughes would also save the Bills just over $6 million in cap space according to OverTheCap.com.
However, cutting Hughes would be a bit of a risky move for Buffalo given their pass-rush struggles and the fact that Hughes has been one of their better pass-rushers with 5 sacks the last two seasons. It’s still entirely possible the Bills’ draft picks show enough to warrant the move and they still have veteran depth in players like Mario Addison who could also be in this discussion as both him and Hughes are heading into their mid-thirties.
If Hughes does in fact become available, though, the Chiefs should be all over it. Hughes has earned an 86.0 overall pass-rush grade from PFF and has been able to consistently get pressure on the quarterback. For a Chiefs pass-rush that struggled in 2020 and may even be without one of their starting edge players in Frank Clark to begin the year, adding a veteran like Hughes would be a great fit.