Wayne Hunter To Retire

4:44pm: Hunter has decided to retire following his release, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. Rodak (link) adds that the Bills’ decision to release Hunter was his own decision since he didn’t feel like his body was good enough to play again. The Bills, he says, could pursue more offensive line depth between now and the start of camp.

3:51pm: Despite an effort to return to action in the NFL for the first time since 2012, veteran offensive lineman Wayne Hunter saw his time in Buffalo cut short after just three weeks. According to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter), the Bills have released Hunter, less than a month after signing him.

Hunter, who started all 16 games at right tackle for the Jets in 2011, was widely criticized by fans during his time in New York. In his final year in green, Hunter graded out as one of the very worst tackles in the NFL, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Hunter finished with an overall grade of -24.6, ranking him 71st out of 76 qualified players at the position.

In August of 2012, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer convinced the Rams to send Jason Smith to the Jets in order to bring Hunter to St. Louis. Hunter fared slightly better in his 14 games (4 starts) with the Rams, but still graded out with a below average mark, according to PFF.

Given the somewhat unsettled situation on the Bills’ offensive line, Hunter’s former head coach, Rex Ryan, wanted to take a look at his old tackle. However, the audition didn’t last long — Hunter, who turned 34 earlier this month, will return to the free agent list immediately since he’s not subject to waivers.

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