NFL Insider: Wait was worth it for Bills DE Jerry Hughes

It had been a long time since Jerry Hughes had seen the end zone, but he knew exactly what to do when he got there. The former TCU star jumped into the Ralph Wilson Stadium stands, celebrating with Buffalo Bills fans.

“I’ve always wanted to do that, so I figured I would take advantage of a nice, low wall there,” Hughes said in a phone interview.

Despite being held by Cleveland’s All-Pro left tackle, Joe Thomas, Hughes stripped Browns running back Terrance West on a sweep toss. Hughes then grabbed the ball with one hand, got up and ran 18 yards to the end zone.

Browns coach Mike Pettine called it the turning point of the Bills’ 26-10 victory last week.

It was Hughes’ first touchdown since 2008, when he had two interceptions for the Horned Frogs in a game against SMU, returning one 24 yards for a touchdown.

“Heck, I still remember all my sacks, so I’m not going to forget my three little touchdowns,” he said.

Hughes has 9.5 sacks, a half-sack from a career high, and he has forced three fumbles. Thomas had a tough day trying to block Hughes last week, with the Pro Bowler being called for three holding penalties and a false start.

Hughes always knew he had the ability to do in the NFL what he did in college. He just didn’t always know if he’d get the opportunity.

“Sitting there and watching, you definitely want to at some point in time kind of take what you’re learning and put it to some use,” Hughes said. “I was eager to get on the field, and join those guys and all the fun they were having playing on Sundays. I try not to lose sight of that, but doubt does creep in, because you don’t know what the next year might be like.”

Buffalo has been a blessing for Hughes.

He has 19.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in 28 games playing at right end, with Mario Williams at left end and Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams in the middle. Although Hughes becomes a free agent after this season, with his pass-rushing services sure to be in demand, Buffalo has become home.

“It just gave me that fresh start to kind of go out there and make a name for myself,” Hughes said. “I just wanted to come here from Day One and continue to work hard like I had been doing. They gave me a shot, and I went out there and let it rip.”

Marty B emerging

Martellus Bennett finally has become the player Jerry Jones envisioned when the Cowboys made the former Texas A&M standout a second-round pick. Only Bennett is doing it for the Bears instead of the Cowboys.

Bennett’s 77 receptions are the most among tight ends and seventh among all players, although he is a game ahead of most, with the Bears having played the Cowboys on Thursday.

Bennett also already has established career highs in yards (821) and touchdowns (six).

None of that would have been possible in Dallas with Pro Bowler Jason Witten entrenched as the starter. In fact, in four seasons with the Cowboys, Bennett had only 85 catches for 846 yards and four touchdowns.

“I didn’t have room to be myself [with the Cowboys],” Bennett said in a conference call. “They always told me, ‘Do it like Witten. Be like Witten.’ I think they had a guy who played tight end the right way, and they wanted me to do it exactly like him. But really if you try to imitate someone else, you can never really be who you are. Being a young player coming out of college — turning 21 after the draft and trying to change everything up to be like someone else — that’s just not the way to go in anything in life.

“Dr. Seuss said, ‘No one can be you-er than you.’ So I think I am in a situation — even under [coach Tom] Coughlin in New York — I always practiced hard, I always played hard. But the fact that I want to read, draw, and do all that stuff shouldn’t be an issue, make music. I never really got in trouble worth getting in trouble for.”

Still, the Cowboys tried to keep Bennett in free agency in 2012. He took less money to go to the Giants on a one-year, $2.5 million deal that eventually led to the Bears’ four-year, $20.4 million offer in 2013.

“Jerry Jones always told me I was going to be a Pro Bowl player,” Bennett said. “He was one of the few people down there who had a lot of faith in me. He didn’t want me to leave.

“… It just didn’t work out. It was one of those things where they had a guy [Witten] who had a great relationship with the quarterback, and there just wasn’t enough room for me to fit in and grow. Basically, if you plant a tree in a garage it’s not going to grow much.”

So now Bennett is flourishing in Chicago.

This story was originally published December 6, 2014 at 7:14 PM with the headline "NFL Insider: Wait was worth it for Bills DE Jerry Hughes."