Bills should feel optimistic about Michael Hoecht’s progress

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Michael Hoecht #55 of the Buffalo Bills reacts during the third quarter of the NFL 2025 game between Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Buffalo Bills started Organized Team Activities (OTA) earlier this week, providing the first glimpse at some of the newest members of the club. While it is always exciting to get a glimpse of the rookies and newly acquired players, I was most excited to see one particular Bill who is working his way back from injury – Michael Hoecht.

The 2025 season was not exactly what Hoecht would have envisioned with the Bills, as he was suspended for the first six games of the season. Hoecht showed incredible promise through his 7 quarters of action with the team, recording two sacks and forced fumble through seven quarters. Unfortunately his season came to an end with a torn achilles tendon against the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving fans to wonder what could have been.

Fast forward to February 2026, when Hoecht appeared on Eric Wood’s podcast, Centered On Buffalo . Hoecht sounded optimistic when speaking with Wood, even mentioning a July 1st target for a return. If I am being honest with you, when I originally heard this I just assumed that Hoecht was being optimistic about the situation.

You can understand how a player might set an aggressive timeline, especially after what was a bit of a lost season. While Hoecht still has a long way to go, there was a positive update that came on Tuesday from WGR 550 AM reporter Sal Capaccio. There are multiple video clips from Capaccio showing Hoecht working out to the side, going through some sprinting drills.