Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
It was announced on Monday that the Buffalo Bills have traded inside linebacker Kelvin Sheppard to the Indianapolis Colts for outside linebacker Jerry Hughes (pictured above). Hughes was a first-round pick for the Colts in 2010, while Sheppard was taken in the third round of the 2011 draft.
Despite them being nearly identical in age, size and stature, it’s comparing apples and oranges with these two linebackers. Sheppard is more of the old-school thumper middle linebacker, while Hughes is the converted pass-rushing defensive end that now plays outside linebacker .
This trade could benefit both teams as the Colts lacked an inside guy and the Bills needed another pass rusher. Hughes has been a spot starter for the Colts likely due to the established guys that were in front of him in Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Meanwhile, Sheppard has been the starting inside linebacker for the Bills since the mid point of his rookie year, but never seemed to get any better.
In addition, both teams drafted their likely replacements, Bjoern Werner for the Colts and Kiko Alonso for the Bills. Both players have also gone through two different defensive coordinators in different schemes, which sometimes can cause confusion in an athlete’s head.
That being said, sometimes players need a change of scenery from their original team to reach their true potential as an NFL star. Where these two players’ careers go from here is anyone’s guess, but they are both young enough to break out and make names for themselves.
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