In retrospect, it sounds like a wasted opportunity for the Buffalo Bills that they weren’t able to keep one of their former wide receivers in Chris Hogan, who was let go by the team in free agency last year.

Since then, Hogan has become a big part of the New England Patriots’ offense, even becoming a Super Bowl champion himself last February.

The fact that Hogan blossomed in Foxborough only upsets former Bills head coach Rex Ryan even more to this day. In an interview on Adan Schefter’s ESPN podcast show, Ryan was full of praises of Hogan, while also expressing how bad it feels like to play against his former wide receiver last season, especially knowing that it was their rivals in the Patriots that got the services of the Monmouth product.

This one drives me crazy right here. This one drives me crazy because that was the one player I definitely did not want to lose when I was at Buffalo. Not only was he really our best receiver that year, remember, he was third, I think, in the league in yards per reception, he averaged over 17 yards a catch, so that was impressive, but he was also our best special teams player. This kid’s a great football player, a great competitor, and a great athlete. You know, obviously, he was a multi-sport athlete in college and you don’t want to lose these guys.

Hogan was a restricted free agent last year, which means the Bills could’ve matched the $12-million contract offer by New England and keep Hogan, but Buffalo didn’t. That’s mainly because the Patriots loaded the first year of that contract with $5.5 million, a price too steep for Buffalo to contend with last year.

Hogan played like he really did deserve the contract last season, as he racked up 680 receiving yards with four touchdowns in 15 games for New England.