Jerry Hughes, former Buffalo Bills DE signed by the Houston Texans

Hughes, turning 34 in August, was originally selected as the 31st-overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2010 NFL Draft. After a rough start to his career, he was traded to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kelvin Sheppard in 2013.

This marks another departure along the defensive line for the Buffalo Bills. Earlier in the offseason, Harrison Phillips, their defensive tackle, signed with the Minnesota Vikings. 

Defensive end Mario Addison, another one of Buffalo's former defensive ends, signed with the Houston Texans as well. Hughes was the longest-tenured Buffalo Bills player during the 2021-2022 season. 

Although he played all 17 games of the season, he registered his lowest percentage of defensive snaps played (51.8%) since his career began. This is likely why the Bills were fine with his departure from the team. 

To be fair, he did lead the team in pass rush win rate at 20.9% last season. He also ranks fourth all-time in Buffalo Bills history with 53 sacks and has a total of 58 in his career.

Houston Texans General Manager Nick Caserio has also added Rasheem Green to the frontlines of the Texans. During the NFL Draft, they selected one of the best prospects at the defensive back position in Derek Stingley Jr. 

It's clear that the Texans wanted to have a defensively-focused offseason, also drafting Safety Jalen Pitre from Notre Dame. Houston ranked 27th in points allowed per game last season, allowing an average of 26.6 points per game.

They ranked 31st in yards allowed per game (384.4), the only team they were better than in this category was the New York Jets.

With these additions, Houston will hope to remedy their concerns on the defensive side of the ball.