Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes caused a bit of a stir earlier this offseason. He revealed that he had offseason surgery on his wrist and then had a second on a groin injury.
The first of the two turned some heads because Hughes was never listed on any sort of injury report with a wrist issue during the 2019 season, but the Bills avoided any wrongdoing after the NFL looked into the situation. In a bit of news on Wednesday, Hughes did a little head-turning again.
Like the wrist issue, Hughes never reportedly had an issue with his hamstrings last season. But the 31-year-old took to his social media account on Twitter this week and made an interesting assessment. Heading into next season, Hughes is naturally hoping to be healthy. Quoting a highlight reel video of him, Hughes mentioned he’s feeling healthier but putting check marks next to his two surgeries. Then comes the hamstrings.
Here’s Hughes’ message:
Wrist surgery ✔️
Groin surgery ✔️
Hamstrings 💪💯
2020 season 😤😤…… Leggo https://t.co/fHac0Uj2DL— Jerry hughes Jr (@Iam_jerryhughes) June 30, 2020
In April, Hughes mentioned he’s feeling much better already following his surgeries, saying things are going well with his offseason workouts.
“Everything seems to be on track, going along well with my rehab. I’m still able to go to the facility four times a week, so I’m just moving along quite well,” Hughes said. “I’ve been talking with my trainers and what they’ve been telling the guys here in Houston is that I’m on schedule.”
Hughes didn’t miss a game last year, so the hamstrings “issue,” we’ll call it, wasn’t serious enough to hold him back. Dating back to the 2016 season, Hughes’ hamstring were bothering him. Still, even then, Hughes didn’t miss a game that season, either.
The defender who is now the Bills’ longest-tenured player has been nothing short of an iron man in his career. Since joining the Bills in 2013 via trade, he’s never missed a game in his Bills career. That’s seven-straight seasons of 16 games played for Hughes. However, hamstring injuries are known to linger.
That alone is something to be proud of, but Hughes will hope all three of these prior mentioned issues are behind him. In 2019, they probably held him back leading to his low 4.5 sacks. A year prior, Hughes had seven, and in 2020, could a health Hughes get more?
Not only would feeling 100 percent help the defender, he’s got some new talent around him, namely Mario Addison lining up across from him on Buffalo’s defensive line. Addison, who has at least nine sacks in his past four-straight seasons, could help open lanes to opposing quarterbacks for Hughes.
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