The next coach of the Buffalo Bills might have to make do without one of the team's top pass rushers in 2015.
Impending free-agent defensive end Jerry Hughes made it clear that he won't accept a hometown discount to return to Buffalo.
"That's a nice little deal to throw out there," Hughes quipped, via The Buffalo News, "but yeah, I've never heard of a hometown discount in the business world."
Hughes is "definitely" interested in re-signing at the market rate because he has built up "so much camaraderie" with Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus on the NFL's most disruptive defensive line.
Hughes has averaged 10.0 sacks and 40 quarterback hurries over the past two years -- numbers that place him just below Pro Bowl level. For the first half of the 2014 season, he outplayed more ballyhooed first-team All-Pro Mario Williams.
"We'll do everything we can to keep him," general manager Doug Whaley said at his season-ending news conference.
Armed with a first-round pedigree, Hughes will likely seek an annual salary in the range of $7-8 million with a guaranteed number north of $12-15 million.
If Whaley doesn't meet Hughes' asking price, the 26-year-old pass rusher will go to the highest bidder on the open market.
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