Jerry Hughes Injury: Updates on Bills DE's Recovery from Wrist Surgery

Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes has begun his recovery following offseason wrist surgery.

Continue for updates.

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Hughes Provides Update on Injured Left Wrist

Wednesday, March 23

Hughes posted a photo on Twitter of the left wrist following the surgery:

Prior to the procedure, he had to wear a protective yellow cone around his left wrist and forearm:

Hughes appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the Bills in 2015, making 52 combined tackles and five sacks. While those numbers aren't gaudy, Pro Football Focus gave the 27-year-old an 81.0 grade, 22nd highest among edge defenders.

The wrist problems go all the way back to last September, and they almost certainly affected Hughes' performance to some extent.

There's no question the Bills will need Hughes back to 100 percent for the 2016 season. In February 2015, Buffalo signed him to a five-year, $45 million deal, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport (via NFL.com's Conor Orr). Head coach Rex Ryan will expect him to help a unit that ranked 24th in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) in 2015, per Football Outsiders.

If the Bills are to improve defensively and end their playoff drought, they can't afford to have Hughes once again carrying an injury through the regular season.