Indianapolis Colts six years ago in a lopsided trade for the ages. The former first-round pick had underperformed in Indy as a 3-4 linebacker and was swapped for middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. Since then Youth Thomas Sweeney Jersey , he’s brought a ferocious pass rush and great all-around play to Buffalo, but his career is at a crossroads.Hughes is going to be 31 before the season starts and he’s entering the final year of a five-year, $45 million deal which will make him the second-highest cap hit on the roster in 2019. Which begs the question, should the Bills look to move on from Hughes, keep him for the final year of his contract, or sign him to an extension?We dove into all aspects of the decision and now you get to vote.All-22 Analysis(Read the entire article with GIFs by Jeff Kantrowski)There’s not much suspense here so I’ll cut to the chase. The Bills would be incredibly foolish to let Hughes find a new city. It’s true that his sack totals haven’t placed him in the best territory (seven in 2018). As a result, there’s a steady murmur of Hughes being washed up. Don’t buy into that narrative. Hughes is coming off one of his best seasons, even from a statistics standpoint.I think we all know the conclusion I came to about Jerry Hughes. Statistically, the only season he’s ever been more productive in was 2014. Defensive end impact players are a premium position and the Bills have a good one on the right side. Hughes is still a dynamic playmaker who makes his presence known. With the occasional hothead moment from Hughes being his biggest drawback, there’s no reason to let him walk.Salary Cap Implications(Read the entire article by Dylan Zadonowicz)If the Bills do surprisingly release Hughes, they would save quite a bit of money for the 2019 season. The team would have to turn to free agency and the NFL Draft to try and replace his production.Salary cap ramifications of cutting Hughes, numbers via Spotrac:2019 cap hit: $10.4 millionSalary due: $6.35 millionRoster bonus: $1 millionWorkout bonus: $150,000Annual sack incentives: $1 millionDead money if cut: $2.9 millionCap savings if cut: $7.5 million if released before roster bonusIn-house Replacement Options(Read the entire article by John Boccacino)The most logical in-house replacement is another former first-round pick: Shaq Lawson. Lawson struggled to make an impact in Rex Ryan’s 3-4 scheme during his rookie season, and didn’t get much better in 2017—the first season with Sean McDermott as head coach and Frazier as defensive coordinator. But in 2018, Lawson turned a corner and showed why Buffalo selected him with the 19th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Clemson.After appearing in 14 games (six starts) and finishing with four sacks, 12 QB hits, 30 total tackles (five for a loss), five passes defended, and two forced fumbles, Pro Football Focus graded Lawson as the league’s 20th-best edge rusher. The 24-year-old Lawson carries a $3,270,586 million cap hit that is fully-guaranteed in 2019, but one season removed from an even timeshare with veteran defensive end Trent Murphy on the left side of the defensive line, Lawson should be in line for even more action this year. Lawson displayed the same athleticism that made him a standout at Clemson, leading the defensive line in balls batted down at the line of scrimmage, and when he wasn’t sacking the quarterback he was causing chaos in the opposing backfield.When it comes to Lawson’s role with the Bills, the biggest issue isn’t whether he will have a place on Frazier’s defense in 2019—he has proven himself to be a valuable contributor—it’s what the Bills will do about the fifth-year option on Lawson’s rookie contract.With young depth, the Bills could take their chances moving on from Hughes with just the players on their roster now if they wanted.Free-Agent Replacement Options(Read the entire article by Sean Murphy)If Buffalo does decide to go the free-agent route, it’s a strong free-agent class to do so. The only problem, of course, is money. If Buffalo wants to land a big-name pass rusher Womens Thomas Sweeney Jersey , they will have to shell out big-time dollars at the expense, literally and figuratively, of other positions with more pressing needs.DeMarcus LawrenceThe golden goose of this year’s free agent class is the young, dominant pass rusher. Coming off his second straight season of at least ten sacks, Lawrence turns 27 in April, and he should command a contract of at least $100 million. Over the last two seasons, he has 25 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, and 49 quarterback hits. Ezekiel AnsahThe veteran former first-round pick of the Detroit Lions is coming off an injury-plagued down year—one where he was only able to play in seven games total. However, he still managed four sacks, three tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hits in those seven games. For comparison’s sake, Hughes suited up in all of Buffalo’s games this year, and he totaled seven sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and 18 quarterback hits.Frank ClarkThere may be some East Coast Bias here, but Clark is far more under-the-radar than the previous names on the list. Playing for a stellar Seattle Seahawks defense, Clark has amassed 35 sacks, 35 tackles for loss, and 72 quarterback hits over his four-year career. Last year, he totaled 13 sacks, 27 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, and one interception. Trey FlowersThe Bills could kill two birds with one stone with this signing, simultaneously strengthening their team and weakening a divisional opponent, the New England Patriots, in the process. Flowers is an excellent all-around player who had seven-and-a-half sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 20 quarterback hits last season. In his career, he has 21 sacks, 25 tackles for loss Authentic Thomas Sweeney Jersey , and 59 quarterback hits. Julius PeppersInsert obligatory mention of connections to Carolina Panthers via head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane here. The 39-year-old future Hall of Fame player still has some value as a situational pass rusher.He was with the Chicago Bears when McDermott was in Carolina, so their paths did not cross. It’s an unlikely signing.NFL Draft Replacement Options(Read the entire article with mini scouting reports by Andrew Griffin)If the Bills do move on from the long-time starter at defensive end, the team might best be served procuring some young, hungry talent in the draft. Currently, the 2019 Draft is loaded with talented pass rushers and defensive ends. Knowing the value teams place at the position, as many as five of the players listed below could end up as first-round picks.Tier INick Bosa (Ohio State) Josh Allen (Kentucky)Clelin Ferrell (Clemson)Nick Bosa is more athletic that his brother Joey, something he’ll prove at the combine in March. Importantly, he’s just as polished as Joey was when he came out for the draft. Allen appears to be athletic enough to handle multiple defensive roles, but he’s proven so effective as a pass rusher that coaches would be crazy to try to deploy him anywhere else. Although he isn’t as much of a natural bender as the names listed before him, Ferrell is big enough and good enough with his hands to the point where that lack of flexibility doesn’t matter too much.Tier IIJachai Polite (Florida)Brian Burns (Florida State)Montez Sweat (Mississippi State) Oshane Ximines (Old Dominion)Jaylon Ferguson (Louisiana Tech)Scouting reports available in the full article here.Tier IIICharles Omenihu (Texas)Joe Jackson (Miami-Florida)Zach Allen (Boston College)Ben Banogu (TCU)Scouting reports available in the full article here.Contract Extension Projection(Read the entire article by Matt Warren)Hughes has a current contract for $9 million per season over five years, and while it’s fair to expect a raise from that contract, that’s not the way the wind blew last year. Last offseason, Buffalo signed Trent Murphy to a $7.5 million per-year deal, and defensive ends on the market made less than that unless they were franchise-tagged. That would likely drive down the price for Hughes, but there’s a surge brewing.If Hughes and his agent are smart, they will wait until after all the huge deals get done at the start of free agency. With several big-name pass rushers expected to hit the market in March, per-year averages could soar.Conversely, the Bills should try to lock up Hughes while they still can get him for a discount before five guys sign huge deals this off-season. They have the cap space and they should sign one of their best defensive players for another few years.The time is right for both sides. Hughes can sign a lucrative deal before he turns 31 and hits free agency at nearly 32 before the 2020 season. The Bills get great production at a fair price for a few years.Here’s my projection:Three years, $33 million extensionFour years, $40.5 million total (including existing 2019)Fully guaranteed: $15.35 millionHughes and his camp can claim he received $11 million per year in new money, while the Bills can lock in Hughes at an average of $10 million per season. Both sides would probably agree to a sack-based incentive that could give him another $1 million each year as they did on his last contract.Read the full projection with comparable contracts and a yearly breakdown in the original article.Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY SportsWhat do you think the Bills should do with Hughes this offseason? ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — LeSean McCoy is doing his best to remain patient. It hasn’t been easy.Buffalo’s trademark rushing attack has gone missing one month into the season, making things more difficult for a new-look offense trying to find its identity with a rookie quarterback. McCoy has surprisingly been a nonfactor for Buffalo with the running game stuck in neutral.“We’re just trying to figure it out,” McCoy said.Getting back to basics in the run game is a point of emphasis for the Bills (1-3) as they look for a much-needed spark. The 31st-ranked offense was expected to lean on McCoy this season, but so far that hasn’t been the case. The Bills are 24th in rushing, down from sixth a year ago, and McCoy hasn’t been a focal point like in previous years.In three games, McCoy has 85 yards rushing on 21 attempts. He also has eight receptions for 41 yards, giving him 126 yards from scrimmage on the season — typical numbers in a single game for McCoy.McCoy did miss one game with a rib injury but was not limited due to the injury in Week 4 against Green Bay, a game in which he saw only five carries.“At the end of the day, all I can control is just when I get the ball in my hand Thomas Sweeney Jersey Boys , making plays when my number is called,” McCoy said. “It’s as simple as that. Help the team win games. … They know I want to be involved. They know I want to get the ball every play, so they know that.”The Bills built their offense around McCoy the previous two years and he rewarded them handsomely. A Pro Bowler in five consecutive seasons, McCoy had a career-best average of 5.4 yards per carry in 2016 (along with 1,267 yards, the fourth-highest total of his career) and 1,138 rushing yards a season ago, when he helped lead the Bills to their first playoff berth since 1999.Getting McCoy involved would be welcome for Buffalo for a variety of reasons. Not only is McCoy the team’s best playmaker, the Bills are looking to take pressure off Josh Allen, who struggled mightily against the Packers. Allen had just 58 yards passing in the first half against Green Bay and finished with 151 yards and two interceptions.“The game plan we have to win football games here in Buffalo is manage the game, play great defense, score in the red zone,” McCoy said. “It’s all the small things, give ourselves a chance to win. That’s all I can really say. We’re not the first team with a young quarterback. Because with a formula like that, you need a good running game, you need a great defense to help the young quarterback out. And I think we have that.”McCoy will need some assistance from the rest of Buffalo’s struggling offense. The line has had difficulty moving on from Eric Wood, Richie Incognito and Cordy Glenn, who all departed in the offseason. And the wide receivers, led by the inconsistent Kelvin Benjamin, have had trouble creating separation downfield and catching the ball with consistency.Coach Sean McDermott stressed the need for Buffalo to be better along the line of scrimmage.“If you don’t win at the line of scrimmage in the run or the pass game, you’ve got no chance,” McDermott said. “That’s a football fundamental 101 and we have to win at the line of scrimmage. You go back and you double down on things you believe in: the fundamentals, mindset, the plan. There’s a lot of hands in that, it’s not just the offensive line. It’s every position establishing the line of scrimmage.”The task will be difficult on Sunday against Tennessee. The Titans (3-1) have yet to allow a rushing touchdown and have only allowed seven touchdowns total.“We’ve got to make these adjustments offensively,” McDermott said. “That running game’s gotta get going.”NOTES: Safeties Micah Hyde (groin) and Rafael Bush (shoulder) did not practice Wednesday. Bush is considered day to day, while Hyde is week to week. … The Bills claimed defensive tackle Jordan Phillips off waivers from Miami and released defensive tackle Robert Thomas. Phillips had a sideline outburst on Sunday in Miami’s 38-7 loss to New England and said on his Instagram account Tuesday that he “couldn’t be happier” to leave Miami. Phillips was a second-round pick of the Dolphins in 2015.