ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Michael Hoecht knows exactly how many days it has been since he tore his Achilles against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 5th. But he also knows that injuries are part of the game, and the only thing he can control is how he recovers.
Up to this point, so far so good. In the seven months since Hoecht suffered the season-ending injury, he’s back with his teammates at practice. During mandatory minicamp, he didn’t take part in any team drills, but it doesn’t look like he’s far off.
I’m no doctor, but this seems like a good sign 👀 pic.twitter.com/YSxvQTinUD
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) June 9, 2026
“After doing enough rehab, you need to start doing things where you don't necessarily know where your feet are going to be, and you have to like reteach your brain to say, I'm bending a corner and not think left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, but actually just do it and like be an athlete,” Hoecht said. “As far as whether I'm ahead of schedule or not, I don't 100% know, but I know that I feel really good right now.”
"You gotta try to slow him down, to be honest with you," head coach Joe Brady said. "His greatest strength is also a weakness in this point because it's like he can almost go and do too much right now. But we have a great plan. He's doing everything we're asked of him."
Hoecht’s injury was especially cruel because of the impact he made in the only two games he played last season. He had five total tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, and helped the Bills get two wins. Hoecht was suspended for the first six games of the season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
“There were seven quarters last year when I felt like the best player in the NFL,” Hoecht said. “The NFL is not a fairytale, you know; it's one of those things where you can't control all the outcomes. It's not always, you know, sunshine and rainbows.”
So how does Hoecht see himself fitting into a new defense led by Jim Leonhard? He’s excited because he sees some similarities to the defense he played in with the Rams.
“The coaches are figuring out where to plug and play me,” Hoecht said. “This is sort of the world I grew up in with Los Angeles. This is sort of that, you know, five-down structure. A little bit more coveragey, a lot of disguise, and personally, I like this sort of front because I feel like it gives the outside linebackers a bit more creativity.”
